Beneath My Skin
by untouchablegoth
Summary: It started when he stood before them. Now given a choice, she takes the one she thinks is certain to end it all for her and them. But what happens when the choice she made has results she didn't know about? HGBCJ
1. Prologue

I love all the Barty/Hermione fics out there, even if there are only about 5 of them, so I thought I'd join in with this little club, lol. Hope you all like it and please review, it only takes a second for you, but they all mean so much to me.

Here you go….

Beneath my Skin

Prologue – I remember

She remembered when she had first seen him how he was, he was being held back by two men by his arms. The men's grips were tight and it was easy to see that they were trying to cause him pain, but he just had that crazed smirk on his face, almost like he found it funny that they were causing him pain.

Hermione looked down at the chairs she was walking in-between, Harry was in front of her and Ron behind. They were surrounded by members of the Order and she glanced back at the delusional man before them before sitting in her seat. She spent the time waiting for the Ministry Officials to settle down in silence, afraid that if she spoke the demented man in the centre of the room, encircled by the chairs would see her and pounce.

He was like a beast in her mind, the look in his eyes and that smirk gave the effect that he was an animal stalking his prey, she didn't know that someone could be so animalistic, and she had seen people change into animals and beasts right in front of her.

The chattering room grew silent as the leader of the meeting stood up and held his hand out to everyone.

"As you all know, we are here to test Mr Bartemius Crouch Junior under **Veritaserum so any questions asked will be answered truthfully and set some.. .. records straight.**" The old man said, he had short grey hair which was a big sort of mess on his head. He seemed nice and Hermione guessed this was the man who took Barty Crouch Seniors job after his unfortunate…..death.

Hermione saw many people nod and make quite comments about this statement and she quickly looked around the room, she saw a clock on the wall, only it had the date on it instead and it was all backwards, she squinted and tried to read it, June 24th. It didn't have the year on it though, but she guessed no one would really need reminding for the year, it was very unlikely for someone to forget or need to know that it was 1995. Like people would forget, she said to herself before looking back up and seeing Barty looking straight at her. She gasped and felt Harry put his hand on her shoulder, she looked over at him, and he gave her a small smile, but she couldn't help but find it hard to shake the feeling that Barty was just looking at her, even though she wasn't looking at him she could still feel his eyes boring into her face.

"Severus Snape will be admitting the potion, which has been verified." And with that she watched as Snape stepped forward and took Barty by the chin and tipped the contains of the small bottle into his mouth. Snape closed his mouth and held his long fingers over his mouth and nose causing the involuntary reaction of Barty to swallow the liquid in his mouth so he could breathe.

Snape let go and took a step back before asking Barty a question to test is the potion was in effect. "What house were you in at Hogwarts?"

Barty frowned instantly but couldn't stop himself admitting the information Snape personally knew he hated. "Hufflepuff." He spat the words out at Snape and let out a low growl.

Snape quickly turned around and nodded to the man running the meeting.

"Good, we may continue. Bartemius, how did you escape from Azkaban?"

Barty's glaring face, looked up suddenly from Snape to the elderly man who had just spoken, a wicked grin broke over his face and he let out a small laugh before answering the question.

"My dear mother, ever such a nice dying woman, made her last living wish to save little me from that hell hole. So she did." He then rolled his head back and laughed loudly before snapping his head back down and sticking his tongue out quickly like a snake.

"How?"

"How what?" Barty teased the man, "You're going to have to be a we bit more specific."

The gray haired man sighed and ran a hand though his hair, only messing it up more, "How did your mother help you escape?"

"Wonderful thing that Polyjuice potion, isn't it?"

Another man stood up and spoke up very loudly, his annoyance clearly shown in his voice. "This is getting us no where!"

Barty smirk only widened as he turned and looked at the grey haired man for the first time. "I answered your question, you answer mine." He said in an almost sing song way.

"Mr Crouch, are you saying that you and your mother swapped placing using Polyjuice potion?" The grey haired man asked him, ignoring the other man who was still stood up.

"Yes! Yes I am!" He yelled, causing an echo to bounce around the room.

The old man coughed and turned to the rest of the people in the room, "This man is clearly insane." He said, sighing and taking his glasses off to clear them.

Dumbledore suddenly stood up and walked down from his set to where Barty was still being held, he didn't get too close, but closer then anyone else would dare to go.

"Barty, why did you disguise as Alastor Moody?" He asked calmly, he already knew the answer, but Dumbledore needed the others to here it.

Barty looked at the man before him, he pounced a bit, but smiled politely when he saw that Dumbledore did not jump or back away from him. "A little…..friend came home one day, and together we came up with a plot to restore Voldemort to his full body and power, a plot that needed me to be in very," He looked over Dumbledore's shoulder and up to where Harry was sitting, "Very close proximity to our young Mister Potter."

There were a couple whispers and gasps of shock from people all around but Hermione just kept on watching the man down in front of everyone, not taking her gaze off him for a second.

"Did you put Harry's name in the Goblet?" Albus asked the young man.

"Yes, very hard thing to do though, with Hermione with that seeker always hiding in that room though." Hermione winced when she heard him speak of her. She felt both Ron and Harry put their hands on her shoulder, like protective brothers before he started speaking again. "Had to wait for the night before all the names were picked." He said, his tongue darting out then back in every now and again.

Dumbledore was about to speak again when someone spoke up from next to where the old grey haired man sat. "Hermione? Who is this Hermione?"

"Hermione Granger, a student from my school." Dumbledore answered the question quickly, "She is not important at the moment."

Barty pulled unexpectedly and very hard against the two men restraining him, "No!" he yelled over Dumbledore's voice, who's head snapped around to him, curiosity written over his old worn features. "That was my question!" Barty yelled out to the man as if he was standing on the other side of the room and not just in front of him.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at why he wanted to answer the question and not just leave it with Dumbledore's answer, she felt her heard speed up in panic at what he might say, she knew it was crazy, it wasn't like she was very close with him, like Harry was and she had rarely spoken to him, except in lessons.

Dumbledore slowly began to speak to the young man before him, "Okay, Barty, who is Hermione Granger?"

Barty smirked and let his eyes scan the crowd of people looking at him before reaching Hermione and looking her dead in the eyes, he never looked away as he spoke, and Hermione felt that she couldn't either, no matter how much this man was scaring her.

"She was a student of mine, and my days is she the best student anyone could ask for. You don't even need to teach her anything, because she already knows it! She's so god damn smart, smarter them anyone in the Ministry will ever be. But what a funny little mudblood she is-" He spoke with such a dream like voice, and even when he insulted her, his voice still held pride and admiration in it, and that scared Hermione more then the fact he just called her a mudblood.

Dumbledore's voice cut him off the second that word spilt from his mouth. "That is enough Mr Crouch!"

Hermione jumped at his sudden raised voice, she had only heard him yell like that once before, and quite frankly, it scared her how such a calm, collect man like him could change so suddenly and have such a presence like he did at the moment. But even that didn't stop Barty from continuing.

"So perfect…" his voice was quite, but everyone could still make out what he said. "She shouldn't be a mudblood." His eyes darted around, like he was calculating something, "She smart, and morals….What morals this girl has!" He yelled out to everyone, like he was speaking of a great force, but really it was just her. She felt Harry and Ron rising from next to her, but she gently put her hands on either of their knees, causing them to stop and sit back down, but never off the edge of their seats. "Right, wrong. She's just so powerful, and everything a pureblood should be. But she's not….." He trailed off to himself. Hermione looked at both of the boys at her side, they both were glaring darkly at Barty, hands clenched into fists. Hermione looked up and met Dumbledore's calm blue eyes, he was checking on her, seeing if she was alright. She gave him a small nod and smile to reassure him, then Dumbledore began to talk to Barty again. Who was still currently watching Hermione, licking his teeth, then his upper lip. Hermione suddenly felt very uncomfortable and sat back in her chair, hoping to hide herself from his intense gaze.

"Barty, why did you put Harry's name in the Goblet?"

"And so mature…." Barty kept on talking to just himself, not hearing Dumbledore's question. His eyes still on Hermione, Dumbledore noticed.

"Mr Crouch, why did you put Harry's name in the Goblet?" The two men holding him tightened their grips on him to try and get him to focus but it didn't help, Barty just continued to mumble to himself.

The grey haired man from before stood up again and called over to Dumbledore. "We won't get anything out of him Albus, he is completely barmy!"

Dumbledore sighed and motioned for the men to take him away, the did but not before he sneered at him and glanced up at Hermione one more time, just as the door shut, taking away any presence he had in that room.

There was a long eerie silence as everyone tried to take in what this man had just said. Hermione just continued to stare at the door that Barty had just exited out of. She felt cold, the way this man was talking about her, this Death Eater just fascinated with her. It made her feel very violated for some reason. She saw Molly and Arthur stand up and begin to move out of their chairs and out of the court room. Ron stood up after them, along with Harry, who helped Hermione get up on her shaking legs. They silently walked out of the room and down a set of stairs so they got to a big hall room, where many people who just witnessed what had happened where standing.

Hermione just kept on looking down at her hands which were held just in front of her. She didn't want to look up, in fear and embarrassment that they might recognise her and start asking her questions to which she didn't have any answers, she was just as shocked, if not more, by Barty's thoughts of her.

Molly walked over to Hermione and hugged her, Hermione just put her arms around the plump woman and held her a bit to tightly.

Molly finally let her go but still held her at arms length by her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Hermione nodded, but she knew that wasn't going to convince anyone. Come on, where is that Gryffindor courage? She asked herself. "I'm fine, just a bit shocked at what he said."

Molly sighed and gave her another hug and started whispering into her ear. "It's okay child, he's not well, he cannot harm you."

Hermione felt tears in her eyes but forced herself not to let the fall, she bit into the inside of her lip and whispered in a very panicked voice, "Why did he sat those things?" her voice was nearly breaking and she could feel herself shaking.

Molly just let her go gently and smiled warmly at her, "I don't know."

Hermione was about to ask Molly something when she saw Dumbledore walking towards her, she wiped her hand under both of her eyes even though no tears had fallen and held her chin high.

"Miss Granger, I think there is something we need to discus." His voice was strained and Hermione nodded meekly.

"Can Harry and Ron come?" Dumbledore nodded, and Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron, who were standing just behind her, she looked back at her headmaster and began to follow him.

They walked through the many halls in the Ministry until they reached a small dark wooden door, which they stopped outside of. Dumbledore opened it with a tiny key and they all walked into it. Hermione instantly saw four chairs, three on one side and one on the other.

Dumbledore walked to the single chair, whist Hermione, Ron and Harry walked to the others and sat down. All three of them, looking wide eyed at Dumbledore as if he had the answers to the questions they didn't ask. "Barty Crouch is a very complicated person." Dumbledore started.

Ron muttered something under his breath, which Hermione heard as, "Very mental person."

"Yes, Ron, he does have some mental problems, mainly from the very twisted and difficult life he has had."

"Headmaster, he is a Death Eater. As loyal as they come," Harry spoke politely to Dumbledore, "Don't you think it's a little weird that he looks at Hermione so…." Hermione saw Harry struggle to find the right word, "fondly." Hermione let out a snort at his choice.

"I do not know why he does, Hermione is clearly all of the things he spoke of, but I do not know why he was thinking these things, he is very mentally disturbed." Dumbledore said calmly. "I think it would be better if we all just forgot about Barty Crouch. He is being sent back to Azkaban where he will not be getting out of any time soon."

Hermione spoke up for the first time since they got in the room, "He's supposed to hate me."

Dumbledore's gaze feel onto the fifteen year old girl in front of him, "Miss Granger, you are smarter then everyone in Hogwarts, you are extremely powerful and you are very beautiful. Everything a Death Eater thinks a muggleborn isn't supposed to be. But you are, and Barty has seen that. Everything Voldemort has been saying about muggleborns and muggles, none of them are reflected in you. You are living proof that Voldemort is wrong in everything he believes."

Hermione nodded, taking it in, but it still didn't stop that sinking feeling of coldness inside of her. "Can we just forget everything that happened today?" Dumbledore gave a kind and slow nod to Hermione's question and Ron and Harry took her by the hands and smiled at her. "I mean, he is insane after all." And with that, all of them left the room, and Hermione, Harry and Ron went back to the Borrow with the rest of the Weasleys and none of them spoke of that day again.

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I know it's short, but it's only a prologue, the next chapters will be longer!

Okay, this is my first Barty Jr/ Hermione fic…….lol, I hope people like it so far, and please review, because they keep me going. Anyway…… please review, and for everyone who has a Barty/Hermione fic, please update them and if your reading this and like it, or any other Barty/Hermione fic, why not write one yourself.

Your Loyal Fictioneer

xXxUntouchablegothxxx


	2. Chapter 1

Mrs Pierre Bouvier – There aren't many Barty/Hermione fics, but it's kind of a growing thing, or at least I think so, now that Doctor Who has come about, but I've been waiting for an idea of this kind of fic since I saw the film and I'm so glad you like it! Any way, I know you may have heard this before, but this is a different kind of time travel, yes it's time travel, but no time turner……other then take its time travel lol ….ironic really….Doctor who…time travel….lol I only just realised the connection there lol….sorry back to your review. Thanks so much for reviewing! I really appreciate them and always reply with at least a thanks, in most cases more, if questions are asked etc. And tell me what you continue to think of my story, please!

w1cked angel – Like I said in the reply above, their airnt that many BCJ/HG fics, and I know, I thought I was gunna be appalled too, when the idea came to me I was like "Ew! Why did I just think that? …..but wait….." lol, how most of my ideas start I think. Sometimes I don't think I'm normal……anyway, thanks for the review! And please keep telling me what you think, and enjoy!

jalapeno1011 – Well wait no longer, cause here it is, it's longer and Barty may be a little more, or little less creepy, I can't remember how creepy I made him in the last chapter…..well that's not good….. Anyway, thanks so much for the review, I love reading them, like little bursts of the rainbow….wait, that's skittles….never mind. Thanks again and I hope you like this chapter too!

Please, everyone crazy enough to read this very unlikely and strange couple, please tell me what you think about it, cause so far I think I'm a little bit delusional at the moment…..

By the way, Barty never got the "Kiss" at the end of GOF, and Dumbledore never got killed as a result of Barty being alive, Barty was there the night of the Unbreakable Vow, and he stopped it, insisting that Draco wouldn't fail. So no unbreakable vow, no Snape having to kill Dumbledore when Draco failed. But more about that story later.

I think I've gone on for a bit too long now, so read and enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think at the end!

Beneath My Skin

Chapter One – Of Coins and Choices.

She knew it wouldn't be easy, it was never easy, war was never easy, but she never thought it would come down to the meeting they were having now.

It had been a year since the Death Eaters broke into the school and tried to kill Dumbledore, they hadn't, but it was still an extremely close call, one that shook them all up a bit and in that year there was only one battle and one fight that occurred. The battle was the worst, that's how they lost Shacklebolt, the fight was small, very small, but it was a lot more personal then anyone wanted it to be. It was just her, Ron and Harry, they were trying to find one of the Horcruxs, the locket from Grimmald Place. Recently they had discovered that it was one, hidden by Sirius' brother, who had actually been a spy the whole time, not that anyone knew that, he sent secret messages and clues to the Order, but no one ever knew that they were from him.

They were looking for it in many of the boxes that were just lying around in the house when they heard a noise. All of them were on their feet instantly, wands drawn and eyes alert. Hermione didn't see what happened next, but she was now up against a wall, being pressed by a man she couldn't make out. She wondered why no one was helping her, but she could hear that they were fighting other people themselves. She tightened her grip on her wand and lifted her arm around the back of the person holding her there. Pressing it into his back she felt a point of something in her cheek, it didn't take much of a guess to know it was a wand.

She blinked a couple times, trying to get her sight back, and slowly it blurrily came. She squinted only to make out the face of Barty Crouch Jr, she gasped only to feel the wand forced more pointedly into her cheek. She didn't know he had escaped, she thought he was still in Azkaban, but obviously he wasn't. He had that lazy smirk on his face, it was lopsided and it caused winkles to surround his eyes. She tried to move back from his lowered face, but couldn't because of the wall that supported her.

Looking into his eyes she whispered a spell, but so did he. He was thrown across the room and hit the wall on the other side, whist Hermione fell to the ground, clutching her cheek. It burned so much and she let out a cry as she felt tears fall from her eyes. Still holding her searing skin, she looked up to see Harry and Ron yelling things at each other, things she couldn't hear because of the spells that they were throwing at the Death Eater in front of them. She turned and saw Barty getting up slowly, once he got to him feet he slanted slightly and very casually walked back over to her.

She got up quickly and held her wand out at arms length, she sent a couple spells but all he reflected or countered until he got within a couple feet of her again. His tongue darted out and Hermione scrunched up her face with disgust, she needed to get away from this crazed man and find that locket, but she didn't know how.

"Miss Granger…" He said in an upbeat voice, dazed almost, "My my, how you've grown." His smirked widened as he flicked his tongue again, only this time he did it slower, more deliberate.

Hermione cringed in disgust at his actions and looking up and down him body, when she reached his face again she saw him still smirking, "And I see you're still insane." She restored, never making a move, it was always harder to make the first move so she was just waiting for him.

"Miss Granger, I taught you defence, I know every move you make." He laughed and stalked a couple steps closer, causing Hermione to straighten her arm. Barty slowly moved his eyes from her face, down to her feet and back up again. "And while I may be insane," He took another step closer, and his smirk slowly lowered into an almost friendly, kind smile, to which Hermione raised her eyebrow at. "Never believe that effects my intelligence."

Hermione swallowed and just glared at him. "Guess I'll have to use something new then." She said before taking a risk and yelling out "Avis!" And a flock of birds were conjured from her wand.

They all flew directly at Barty and she saw a look of pure anger cross his face as he yelled out,"Diffindo." which caused all the birds to be ripped in half and disappear all together but not before she got a good look at feathers and all the birds insides being thrown across the room. The look of hatred took a while to calm, his face was turned into a sneer, one that had her worried of what he might do. She took a step back and prepared herself for his attack, but he never made one. She kept her eyes glued onto his and slowly the began to circle each other, it reminded her of two animals stalking, testing out their prey before making a move. Hermione, moving closer to Harry and Ron as she walked around the room, her eyes never leaving the dark brown ones of Barty, knew that he knew what she was going to do, but he never tried to stop her, like he almost wanted her to get away, she knew he had had many chances, but just never took them.

She was only a couple of steps away from Harry and Ron when he suddenly stalked over to her, walking aloft but still strong and Hermione's breath caught in her throat she held her wand out and called out a spell, one Barty waved one of his hands at and it flew past him and hit a wall behind him. But before Hermione even had a chance to cast another spell she felt Barty grab her shoulders and lick her cheek.

It was warm. Not chilling cold like she thought it might have been if she had had time to think about it. It made her freeze, but not in a cold way, it was mainly shock that made her unable to move or think. She gasped when she felt her cheek sting after he ran his tongue over it, she remembered that he had also cast a spell before on that same spot and wondered was about to cast another spell at him, or kick him, knee him, whatever she could do first and which caused him more pain, but he pushed her to where Harry and Ron were.

She felt one of them catch her, she wasn't sure which one it was, but they both grabbed hold of either hand and they all disapparated out of the room, leaving the Horcrux behind, if it was even there anyway.

They all arrived in the Burrow and all of them practically feel to the floor because they were so tired and worn from the fight they just had. They all lay on the floor in a heap but none of them were complaining about it, they were all just breathing in and out heavily, really enjoying the fact that they were safe and together. Hermione stood up first, she was going to find Minerva or anyone else to tell them about what happened.

She passed a mirror in the hall and stopped. She looked in it, worry and confusion written all over her face, she now had a light purple mark on her cheek, where Barty had hit her with that spell, where his wand was resting just before he cast it, where he had licked it. She ran her hand across it and felt a slight sting and that it was still wet from Barty's saliva, quickly removing her hand, she wiped it on her trousers and moved closer to the mirror to look at it more closely. She recognised it as a rune, Pethro. It may have just been a coincidence, but she knew her Runes, and this one was identical to the Viking one of Fate. Her brow scrunched up as she lightly grazed her hand across it, not to hard to cause pain, but enough to just feel it, but was quickly interrupter by Molly walking by and quickly hurrying over to her, holding her by the arms and questioning her instantly.

"Are you okay? Did you get the locket? Where are the boys?" Her voice held all the worry that it usually did, only now so did Hermione's.

"Their in the...er," Hermione bought a hand to her head, she couldn't think straight, her hand was shaking as she let it brush over her hair. "The living room." She finally said, she looked at Molly and gave a weak smile, Molly hugged her warmly and took her by the hand, taking her into the kitchen, where Hermione instantly found herself in Ginny's arms but Hermione just laughed lightly and patted the girl on the back. She was just glad she could hug the girl, she felt like she was going to cry, funny, that she wanted to cry now that it was over, she thought to herself before Ginny let her go so she could see the other people in the room.

Snape, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Minerva, Arthur, Fred and George were all there, somehow fitting into the kitchen, she was thankful that Dumbledore couldn't be there, out of fear of what the cramped conditions could do to the old mans health. She smiled lightly to everyone and saw Snape and Moody studying her cheek rather then acknowledging her at all. Molly had left, Hermione guessed, most likely to get Harry and Ron, but she soon returned, her motherly expression still on her face, yet it held that slight announce look that she had seen many times.

"They'll be here in a minute. Just getting up." She informed everyone, then walking over to her sit, next to Arthur and Minerva, and sitting back into it. Ginny had done the same so it was just Hermione standing at the door, feeling uncomfortable under everyone's gaze.

Harry and Ron soon slumped into the room, not being bothered to stand, after seeing there were no sits available, they just both sat on the floor. Harry reached up to one of Hermione's dangling hands and tugged it lightly so she would get the idea and sit down next to them, which she did.

After everyone couldn't take it any longer, someone finally spoke up and for some reason, Hermione was glad it was Moody, she knew that he would get it straight out, no sugar coating, just down to what happened.

"So you didn't get the locket. Who stopped you?" Hermione wondered how he knew that someone had stopped them, but then looked down at her clothes and Harry and Ron's and saw that hers were covered in what she could only make out to be bird guts and Harry and Ron's were both ripped and dirtied, it didn't take a genius.

Harry was the one to speak, which Hermione was thankful for, she really felt that if she even moved she'd fall apart or die.

"We were looking for it when two Death Eaters stormed in, the one we," he motioned to himself and Ron, "fought….well I guess it was Crabbe," He breathed in and looked around the room, "senior." He clarified when he saw the shocked look on Minerva's face.

"You fought?" Remus said, pointing at Ron and Harry, both nodded, then Remus' gaze fell onto Hermione, "What about you, Hermione?"

Hermione just rolled her head across the wall behind her that she was resting it on, so she could look at Remus.

"I didn't see who she was fighting." Harry spoke up, turning his body heavily to face her.

"Yeah, neither did I actually, you alright Herms?" Ron asked, speaking for the first time.

Hermione let out a snort and moved so she was sitting up a bit straighter, she glanced at Ron and Harry before turning her gaze to Remus, the person who had asked her the question. She fiddled with her hands a bit before she spoke, "Yeah, I was against Barty Crouch Junior."

Hermione heard a couple people gasp, but she just keep her eyes on Remus, knowing he would give her a brave face.

"Isn't he the insane one?" she heard Ron ask out loud.

"No," She heard Snape's sharp voice cut in, she turned to look at him, her brow crinkled and a shocked look on her face, she had meet Barty, in person twice now. She could tell that he wasn't sane, so it came as a shock when Snape even suggested that he might not be. She saw him sitting back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest like usual. He had a dark expression on his face and Hermione wondered what he knew, "He isn't insane. Just," Snape ran a hand though his hair, trying to find the right way to explain it, "In a bad place. A very bad place."

Everyone sat in silence, very few believe what he had just said and the ones that did, didn't know what to think. One of the people that didn't believe Snape was Hermione, who was currently thinking about all the things Barty had done, her anger rising inside her and the ability to hold it in was weakening. She took one final look at her hands and looked up to meet Snape's piercing black eyes.

"Bad place? He killed his own father. He condemned his mother to die in a cold cell in Azkaban. He kidnapped Moody and impersonated him for a year!" She felt tears welling up behind her eyes and she didn't care, the pain in her cheek was throbbing and she just didn't care about being polite, or being nice. She just wanted to let everything that he had done, that he had caused and how she felt about those things, and how they hurt so many people off her chest. "He was the one who lead to the new rise of Voldemort, and to do that he cursed unforgivable, he nearly killed people along with leading to Cedric's death!" Hermione clenched her fists and just continued to stare at Snape, who was taking in everything she was saying, a look of sadness yet spite in his eyes. "He manipulated people. He tortured people! He had said and done the most cruel and callous and horrid things I can think of. Someone in a bad place doesn't do those kinds of things, Professor." She finished, she felt tears slowly flow down her cheeks and as she went to wipe them away, her hand brushed the mark causing her to hiss at the sting.

"Who marked you?" Snape's voice was calm, and Hermione looked up to his gaze again, only now his was softer, like he knew the answer, but knew it just had to be said.

Hermione self consciously took a bit of hair from behind her ear and let it fall across her face, to hide the mark. "Barty Crouch, sir." She said, her voice held no emotion and Snape and Hermione both raised their heads up but kept their eyes on each other. It wasn't until Molly and Minerva rushed over to her and bent down to her level, brushing her hair back so they could see the mark, that her and Snape's staring contest finished.

"Oh my," Molly said, brushing the feature with her finger, causing Hermione to take in a sudden breath of air. "This is not good."

"My child," she heard McGonagall sigh, and when they both stood up they turned and gave everyone else a grave look.

"It's just a mark." Hermione said. She stood up and brushed her clothes off. She needed some sleep and didn't really want to stay around here whist everyone discuss her like she wasn't.

"Miss Granger, for such a smart girl, you are very stubborn. Barty Crouch is very….animalistic, he has marked you as his, it's not as powerful mark as Harry's is, but it is not to be thought upon lightly." Snape said, Hermione just glared up at him.

"I'm tired, can't you all brief me in on this in the morning, I don't like being around when people are talking about me anyway." She said, hoping it was a good enough reason and that they would let her go.

"You may go child." McGonagall's voice sounded as tired as Hermione felt, she looked over at her teacher and saw the worry in her eyes, Hermione suddenly felt a bit guilty about being so cold.

"I…..I'm sorry." Hermione said before turning and walking out of the door.

But before she had even stepped out of the door frame she heard Moody start to speak, she was surprised he had stayed quite for so long anyway. "I knew that Crouch boy was going to do something like this to her, things he said at the Ministry about her those years ago, he has an obsession with her-"

Hermione didn't hear the rest of what he and everyone else was saying, she had walked up the stairs to where she was sleeping and shut the door behind her. She lay faced to the wall as it stung too much to lie on her cheek, and she cried herself to sleep, which didn't take long.

The days that followed consisted of Hermione sitting in the study, reading booksabout markings, Pethro, the Crouch history and tradition and some more books about marking spells. She had come up with very little and that's what scared her the most. She had been stopped many times, by many different people in the Order, many of whom she didn't know, and each one had looked at her face, looked a bit closer, made a face, sighed and walked away. She hated it, but guessed that's what Harry got all the time so she felt a wave of sympathy for him, but it still annoyed her when they did it to her, like she was just a painting or a statue to look at.

Two days after that, all the Order were called to Hogwarts. They all were in the Room of Requirement, which currently was just a big wall, with dark walls and loads of chairs sat out in a big circle. Hermione looked around and saw everyone, she sighed when she saw many people whispering and taking quick glances over at her, and she just sighed and turned back to Harry, Ron and Ginny, who were currently talking about what the password meant, which was Willy Wonka.

Hermione laughed and joint in, "Willy Wonka is a fictional character who owns a chocolate factory." A look or realization crossed over Ron and Ginny's face.

Ron quickly turned to Harry, a look of confusion on his face, "Guess you were wrong mate," He said to Harry, who was trying to hide a laugh, Ron didn't notice and turned to Hermione. Pointing at Harry he said, "Harry here said he was a type of animal that makes people horny!"

Hermione smirked and nodded at Ron, whist taking a quick glance to Harry who had stopped hiding his amusement and was now nearly crying with laughter. Shaking her head she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She twisted her head to see Dumbledore, she smiled up to him and said hi, but he was only looking gravely down at her cheek. Hermione was about to frown when he started speaking to her.

"I guess you want answers about that marking don't you?" Hermione nodded and he continued, "I think you'd be best to ask Mr Crouch, he is the only one who has the answers."

Hermione frowned, there was no way she was going to ask Barty, he was insane and a Death Eater. She wondered how delusional Dumbledore was getting, but didn't question what he had said.

He smiled gently to Hermione and looked up to see many people watching him, he walked over to the empty seats on the other side of the circle but didn't sit down in his.

"Fellow Order members, I call you here because we face a grave time, one that we will not all survive. This is a one in a blue moon meeting, one where it is to give you the information of what to do if the times are too dark and there is no other way." Hermione understood what he was talking about, and looked around the room, so did many other people, including Tonks who did not have a happy look on her face about it. She took Ginny's hand, who was sitting next to her, and squeezed it. Ginny looked up at her, and Hermione could tell she didn't know what was about to be said.

"Each of you will be given a coin, this coin can be opened when twisted and inside is a potion, only enough for a sip. Each coin has the persons name engraved in it." He moved his hand out to behind him, and Hermione saw coins appear on the table, each with parchment under them. Her eyes shifted back to Dumbledore and he continued, "Use them only as a last choice. And I stress, do not drink any one else's potion, although it is the same potion, they are made for you and only you." Dumbledore looked down at the floor in front of his feet and even though she was on the other side of the room, Hermione swore she saw a tear fall from his eye and hit the surface of his glasses.

Frowning she saw some people get up and collect their coin but many kept seated. Hermione looked over to Ginny, who had tears in her eyes and Hermione hugged her.

"Is this what it will come to?" She heard Ginny ask her, her voice cracking and quite.

Hermione held her tighter, "I promise it won't. Not like this, never like this." Her voice was strong, but she wasn't. Just below the surface she knew that this is what it may come to but she couldn't show that, she needed to be the person who Ginny could believe, the stronger one of them all.

She stood up and took Ginny's hand, they walked past Remus and Tonks to the table, and Hermione saw her get up in the corner of her eye, and she started yelling at what Hermione could only guess as Remus.

"I can't believe you would even suggest that!" Remus stood up too, taking a small step to Tonks but she didn't stop. "You know I would never lower myself into doing that! If I go down, I go down unwillingly and fighting, I thought you knew that."

Hermione and Ginny had stopped now, and watching Tonks yell and Remus, and so had everyone else by the looks of it.

"Tonks, you knew this was going to happen, and you know it is not forced, it's your choice, and it is only being given out just in case you get trapped in a bad situation and need to end it." Remus' voice was low and Hermione could only just hear it herself.

Tonks had a look of disgust on her face at his words, "I would never do that to myself. I'm not taking a coin."

Remus took hold of her hand, but she quickly jerk it out of his grip, "It's not just a coin, Tonks."

Tonks turned away from him, and sad quietly, "I know, but it just doesn't set well with me that I have my own suicide in my pocket if I take it." Remus slowly walked up to her back and put his arms around her.

Hermione didn't hear what he said to her, but he could only guess that he was whispering calming words, of comfort and support. Smiling at the couple, her and Ginny moved over to the table, Ron and Harry quickly joint them. They were the only ones at the table at that time, and Hermione let her eyes rake over all the coins that lay neatly in rows, each one shining and beautiful. But she knew that inside was a potion able to take her life in just on drop.

She shook her head and turned her head away. "Tonks is right." She whispered to herself.

"Here Herms, I found yours." Ron smiled kindly as he handed her the coin and the piece of paper that came with it. She slipped the coin in her pocket, not wanting to look at it, and held the paper. It simply said her name at the top and she could see an imprint of where the coin had once lain on it. She folded it and put it in the same pocket as the coin.

Turning she caught Snape's eyes again. She remembered not seeing his name or coin on the table, but remembered that he was the one who made the potion most likely, so he would already have it. She wondered why he was looking at her so differently, not a tone or trace of any detest or hate in his eyes and his mouth was not in a firm line like usual, but in a small frown.

His eyes fell to the pocket she had placed the coin and piece of paper in, and she felt it begin to burn, but she guessed it was just her sub conscience. She tore her gaze away and walked over to Remus and Tonks, who had now calmed down. She remembered that day. And that on that day she always knew that they had been given the coins for a reason, but never thought that they would have to actually use them.

Hermione pouted her lips at the irony that Tonks was the first one to use the potion. Dumbledore hadn't told them that the coins were connected and that everyone would know when another person died, because they all turned stone cold, and the persons last message was played out to everyone. She briefly told them where she was, and that she wanted them to come find her body later, when it was safe and she cried at the thought that she would be left there, even after death. She wiped the tears away and told Remus that she loved him, something that everyone already knew, but Hermione couldn't help but feel like she was listening to something personal. And finally she spoke of why she was taking her potion, she was being held by Lucius Malfoy and that he was going to rape her. Hermione knew that Tonks would sooner die then let herself be taken advantage of like that.

She sent out a prayer for Tonks, even though she knew it was too late, she was just thankful they had seen her take the potion and ….. Just stop living, Hermione told herself. That's what it was, it wasn't dying. It was not living anymore. She knew she didn't make any sense but as she watched Remus morn, and slowly others take their potion and find out that a few had gone down fighting, mainly the men who didn't have the major threat of rape and sexual assault as the women did. She wondered how long it would be before she had to make a choice, one like this. She tried to think of what it would be like to be in their situations and what she'd do, but she just couldn't.

Closing her eyes, she felt a stray tear escape, and she held onto the coin tightly in her hand. It was warming up again. Warming up from the last message.

Bill and Fleur. She was glad they died together, not on their own, always wondering about the other. They knew they were together and going to be safe. They didn't say much, it was mainly Fleur in French to her family, her sister, Hermione knew some French, so she knew what most of the words she said were. Bill just kind of held her and he said a simple bye to his family and friends. Hermione knew Bill a little bit, and knew he wasn't one to talk that much, she just dreaded walking out of her bedroom doors and having to face the world.

Everyone in the Order never spoke of the new deaths; they just acknowledged them and continued like they had never happened. Each mourned on their own and did it in privacy of their own rooms or outside somewhere.

Hermione didn't mourn for them, and that worried her a bit. She just accepted each death and repeated the same thing in her mind, the thing that she had told herself so many times, she was sure she was trying to convince herself of it.

Quietly, to herself Hermione said the sentence that she did after every time the coin started warming up again. Her voice never quivered, she never spoke it was emotion, just that same monotone.

"This is a war, wars have casualties but on both sides, we are not an exception."

And with that she connected the coin to the necklace she had made she that it was easy to get to and harder to lose, and she stood up, putting on the mask she made so perfect, like everything else she did, and went to join the masquerade of the Order and she liked to call it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Hey, well that's that chapter over and I've nearly finished the next so it won't be that long before I update again. Please review because if people review I feel guilty if I make them wait, so I post quickly so you'll get the next chapter sooner if you review. So please do.

Your Loyal Fictioneer

xXxUntouchablegothxxx


	3. Chapter 2

AlexandraKathleen – Thank you for the review, thank you for saying I'm a great writer, sometimes I doubt myself lol. Anyway, here's the next chapter hope you enjoy it. Anyway, please review again, and I'll give you another little comment like this in my next chapter. Lol. Thanks Xxx

Witch isit – I'm pretty new myself to the whole BCJ/HG ship, but I'm loving it! I just wish there was more to read and enjoy! By the looks of it, you're a David Tennant fan, lol. I Love him so much, Casanova, Doctor Who, Takin' over the asylum, Barty Crouch Jr! Love them all, love him just as much as I do Johnny Depp, maybe even more. Anyway, back to the story, I hope you enjoy it, there isn't much Barty in this chapter, but there will be more later. Thanks for the Review, and please review again! Thanks!

Mrs Pierre Bouvier – This chapter is much happier, lol. Sorry, it's a real low point actually, probably one of the lowest in this stories, well there might be another really really low point later on. Thanks for the review, please review again, and enjoy this chapter!

Thanks for every one reading this story, and please, if anyone is even considering doing a BCJ/HG fic, please do, I'll support you and I just love to read them, but there aren't many, we need to make them more well known! Thank you! And like this chapter!

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Beneath My Skin

Chapter Two - Sink or Swim

"We are losing this war." Hermione's voice was dull in the small room that only four people were sitting in. All on the floor, their faces grim like hers and she could tell they were all thinking the same as she had just said.

"No…." a small voice of one the other people said, it was sad and held quite, yet they knew that it was true.

Hermione looked up at the other three people in the room, Remus, Harry and Ginny. There they were, the only four remaining members of the Order, unless you counted Moody, who was currently in the clutches of Death Eaters, so they could only wish the best that he was alive, yet take down numbers of the people they knew were alive for sure, him not being one of them.

She ran a hand across her cheek bone, along the small magical mark that now lay on her skin there. "We leave this room, we die. We need to either come up with a brilliant plan right now, or," She looked at everyone, all of them knowing what she was going to say, but none of them, including herself, wanting to hear it. "Use that spell as a way to end it, for us."

Ginny stood up, the weight of the words getting to her. Them being spoken aloud was much different then everyone just thinking them, it made it more final, more real.

"We can't, we still have to fight." She ran a hand over her now short hair, pacing two steps before having to turn and pace the other way because of how small the room was.

"Ginny, the only wand we have is mine, and we don't know what spell it was hit with before…." The battle that had lead them to be here, stuck in this tiny room with no where to go except death or killing themselves.

Hermione was fighting Barty Crouch Jr, well the just Barty Crouch now that his father was deceased and had been for a long time now. She was standing in front of Remus, Harry and Ginny, protecting them with their only wand, hers.

"Hello Hermione." He said with the same spiteful voice that he had said long long ago to his father in the Ministry. The voice, the day Hermione only knew of because she had seen the memory of Dumbledore's when trying to find out whatever she could about Barty.

Barty had that crazed smirk on his face, a smirk Hermione was used to now, him being Voldemort's right hand man made him the person she fought the most with in battle. He licked his lips and stalked over to her, both of their wands raised; hers aimed at his chest and his at her wand.

"Us again." He called over to her, even though it was just him, three more Death Eaters and the four of them.

"Yeah, lucky me." Hermione responded before casting a spell which he silently countered, causing it to bounce mid air and go back to her. But she reacted quickly and sent it flying into a wall at their side.

"Why do you still do this Hermione? Why not give up," he took another step towards her, Hermione could only raise her wand to his face. "Give in to me." He flicked his tongue, he was getting closer to her, like he did in most battles, and she hated it. He was insane and she couldn't stand being around him, never knowing when he would strike or pounce on her. He lowered his face

right next to hers and she felt him whisper a spell before she knew what he was doing.

She could feel everyone behind her, working to get them out, but she didn't care, all she was focused on right now was his eyes boring into hers. She knew it was the spell but she couldn't help but have it consume her, she tried to fight it, but the more she did, the more she felt him laugh at her and take more control.

He took her wand out of her hands, bringing to right next to his mouth, his great smirk only widening when he slowly licked it from its handle to its tip, which disgusted her, he moved back from her and whispered another spell into it. She saw a little glimmer of gold leave his mouth and seep into her wand, and she couldn't help but let out a strangled cry. This caused him to look back up at her, but never moving his head from her wand.

"Shh," he said raising a hand to her mouth, tapping it gently and leaving his finger lightly pressed against her lips. "It's all yours." She felt him slip the wand back into her pocket, and she darted her eyes down too look at it, she tried to move her hand to grip it tight, but couldn't. She looked back up Barty and he flicked his tongue again, only this time he moved in to her face, she felt him lick along the mark on her cheek and she felt the need to cry, vomit and kill him all at once.

He let the spell which held her go and he moved back very slowly from her, "What a waste." He whispered, it would be guessed as to himself, but Hermione knew better, it was his way of sort of saying goodbye to her. Something that had become an almost tradition with them over time, every time they fought, all five times.

She knew better then to reach out and even touch her wand, not knowing what spell he had cast, but knowing it definitely had one on it. She knew he wouldn't kill her, not right now, they would have killed them already if that's what they wanted. She turned around to the others and saw them chanting, Harry and Ginny holding their hands out for her to take, and join in with their circle and chanting. She took hold of them roughly and felt like she was using a port key, but knowing better. It was the same pulling sensation in her stomach, but when she glanced back she saw Barty licking his lips one last time, whist watching her, before disappearing to the small room which they were currently in.

"I'm sorry Ginny, I know I promised you, but that was such a long time ago." Hermione said, knowing that she was regretting her words as much as everyone was. She wiped her mark as if it burnt suddenly. Looking up at Ginny, who was walking around the cramped room, she continued. "It's the only way."

Harry spoke up now, "Ginny, we're the last ones. There are hundreds of them, nearly thousands. There are four of us." He stood up and grabbed one of Ginny's hands and pulled her to him, where he wrapped his arms around her and they just stood there, silently, holding each other.

Hermione turned to Remus and closed her eyes slowly before opening them and finding hers looking straight into his. "Are you okay with this?" She asked him lightly.

Remus nodded, running his hand though his vastly grey hair. "Yeah, I have been for awhile," Hermione knew that he was ready to take it after Tonks had, seeing no reason to live anymore. Hermione was there when he nearly tried to take it for the first and only time, she had to jump on him, making him fall to the ground where he hit and punched her into letting him up but she only did when she made him promise. "But are you?"

Hermione frowned further as she looked down at the coin in her hands. "No." she said, and looked up to Harry and Ginny holding each other. She craved having someone all the time during the war, having no one to hold her, comfort her like Ginny did. She turned back to Remus and she could tell that he knew what she was feeling. Slowly he took his coin out and twisted it open, she saw the dark purple liquid in its tiny holder.

Ginny and Harry had turned now, and watched fearfully at Remus and the coin in his hands.

There was an eerie silence as Remus leaned over to Hermione and gave her a light kiss on her lips. Hermione closed her eyes and leaned in, knowing this was his way of saying goodbye to the woman he knew was extremely alone. Her eyes still closed as he pulled back and she knew he had taken the potion when she heard a light thud. A tear fell from her eyes as she opened them slowly and looked up to Harry and Ginny.

She heard him mutter something, which she could make out as "We're together, that's all that matters." She sighed and knew that she was the perfect person to take the potion next, leaving Ginny and Harry a bit of time to themselves. It seemed right to her that it ended this way, no matter how much she didn't want it to.

Delicately she took out the stone cold coin, which now pulsed with iciness that only came when someone had died but not left a message. It was obvious that it was Remus. She twisted it open and was surprised that it came undone so easily. She looked down at the light purple liquid and noticed how cloudy it was compared to Remus', who's was a lot darker and less misty. It was weird, so summarized, unnerving definitely, to stare at your own cause of death and know that in a minute you will be dead yourself. Taking on last look at Harry and Ginny who were now sitting in the corner, hugging each other, and one last look at Remus' still body, it took her back at how much it looked like he was sleeping rather then dead.

"We had a good time in the end, but I guess.. .." She paused and smiled lightly to Harry and Ginny, knowing this was the last time, she only hoped it was like going to sleep. "I love you guys."

"Go get 'em Herms. You've been fantastic." Harry said as Hermione poured the small amount of fluid into her mouth and she didn't even need to swallow it, it absorbed into her tongue and she looked at the coin that was still held close to her face. She looked into it as she felt herself fall asleep. She took a deep breath in, knowing it would be the last breath of air she'd ever take again.

She heard Ginny call out to her, she couldn't hear or understand what it was that she said, it was just a sense that she had said something, something loud and frightened, maybe it was the potion, she thought, but she just continued to stare at the coin, she didn't know why she couldn't look away, and she was just focusing on it for as long as she could because she had a feeling that if she looked away it would all be over and she didn't want it to end, she felt tears pour down her cheek and fall over her mark, she unconsciously reached up to her mark and suddenly realised that she was still alive. She could feel her skin beneath her hand, she was breathing, she was warm, and she couldn't be dead, she should be, it only took a second to work but she was still alive.

Her hand was still on her cheek as her mid was working, lightly stroking her mark she was coming to terms that she wasn't dead.

She lowered the coin, expecting to see Ginny crying in Harry's arms, who would just be staring at her, wide eyes and mouth open, not understanding why Hermione was still alive. But they weren't there. She was in a dark room, not the same one as before though, this one was bigger, filled with desk and chairs and looked frighteningly like a class room in Hogwarts.

But she couldn't be in Hogwarts, it had been taken over by Death Eaters, she began to figure out what may have happened, maybe she had been transported there by Death Eaters. But then they would surely be there, waiting for her, and she was alone. And it wouldn't matter anyway, because she would be dead, she had taken the potion. Maybe the potion was the thing; maybe it was a transporting potion or something. It was, after all a different colour and must be a different potion all together.

Her mind was working so quickly she could hardly listen to everything it was saying and working out, she wasn't in Hogwarts, she could tell that by the views outside the window, it was a spelled window that gave it a view of a massive summer's day garden, which Hogwarts never had, but she was in a place like Hogwarts. She wasn't dead, unless this is what death was like, but she doubted it. The potion had done this, it wasn't the same as Remus'. She couldn't s believe she hadn't realised! She began to wonder why some one had given her a different potion, then she remembered the day she was given the coin along with everyone else. Snape was looking at her differently, she thought she was just imagining it but this confirmed it, Snape made each potion and must have known that hers was not the same as everyone else's.

Standing up she began to wonder why he would give her a transporting potion, it seemed crazy to her and she didn't even know where she was. She walked slowly over to the door, as quietly as she could, she reached out delicately to the door handle and was pleased to find it was open. She carefully pushed down on it and pulled at it, it wasn't stiff and she quickly peered out of it, thanking her stars that no one was on the other side.

It was a dark room, but lighter then the one she was in now. She instantly recognised the room as the one in the Ministry, the court. She slowly stepped out of the room she was in into the bigger one. Her footsteps echoed as she entered the room, constantly looking around to check that she wasn't alone, she didn't see anyone, but she knew that the room wasn't abandoned, she could tell by the papers all around the room and the noise from outside the room. It was wrong though, this room, this building, the whole Ministry was meant to be abandoned. She shut the door behind her as she stepped fully into the room. It was different, she was standing in the middle of the room, a place she had never stood before, and even though she was just surrounded by empty chairs, there was still a sense of being over powered by them. She wondered what it was like to be in the middle of wizards and witches everywhere watching you as you stood before them. This thought lead her back to the first time she had ever been in this room, watching the insane Barty Crouch Jr, she shuddered at the memory.

She took one last glance around the room as she reached the door to exit it, but as she did she saw a clock on the wall. Only she remembered that it wasn't a clock, it was that pointless date counter, like anyone would forget the date she remembered saying to herself all that time ago. She shook her head at its pointlessness and turned her head away from it but glanced back at it suddenly.

The date. August twenty third, that was wrong. She raised an eyebrow at the clock, it definitely wasn't the twenty third, and least of all August! She turned her whole body to the clock and slowly took a couple steps closer to it. It was November, the twenty first, she ran a hand over her hair and squinted up to the clock just to check that it was right. It was, in perfectly clear letters and numbers it stated that it was August twenty third 1979. She gaped at the object and tilted her head to the side. Standing on her toes she looked closer at the clock. With certainly she knew it was wrong, it had to be.

She knew she was in a strange place, and that something wasn't right, but she knew the clock had to be wrong. There was no way that it was right. She knew about time travel, she knew the feeling of it, the rush of adrenaline and sense of motionlessness along with the mind boggling thrill of knowing you are doing something that so many have dreamed about but never achieved. This was not the feeling she was getting right now. Right now she felt awkward. It was the only way to explain it, being in a place you knew about so well but knowing it all was wrong, well not it being wrong, but you being wrong. Everything Hermione knew wasn't right, yet everything around her went together. She was the one that was wrong. She was the one who was not meant to be there.

She quickly stepped back from the clock, shock causing her to nearly fall over as she nearly ran out of the room. Opening the door she spun around and stood against it firmly, reaching down to her pocket which her wand was in. She knew that she shouldn't use it, but just in case, she could at least lead people into thinking she would. She took a couple deep breaths in and let them out slowly and deliberately, the jolt of disappointment and yet glee filled her as she could now comprehend that she was alive. That she hadn't stopped living as she called it, rather then death.

Her head was tilted back against the door but as she looked forward to the world in front of her, she never expected to see Dumbledore. He was younger, shorter hair, but it was still lengthy. She felt like she was going to cry or that her eyes were going to explode in her head. She took one last deep breath in and rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck as she hugged him with every last bit of hope and trust she had.

Dumbledore, who was taken aback to say to least, at this young woman, who he didn't know, hugging him, he just gently patted her on her back as she cried into his shoulder.

It was all to much for her, she needed to let out every bit of stress and panic and fear, everything she had kept back for so long, putting a mask over it and not letting anything escape because it was a war. She cried out for everybody that had lost their lives, she shed tears for each person that suffered and changed from the war and she bawled for the people that had been left behind, Harry, Ginny, Remus and herself, having to spend two months together on their own, knowing they were the last ones and knowing it was only a matter of time until they were going to die.

She lost all comprehendible thought as she wept in Dumbledore's arms, even though she knew it wasn't her Dumbledore, her headmaster and her teacher. If it was true, that she was in the past, this Dumbledore didn't know a single thing about what she had been though, what the Order had been though. But that just made her cling on tighter to the man who was not far from carefree yet still was liberated enough to still enjoy a sweet every now and again.

After many minutes of breaking down in this mans arms she pulled back and turned around, wiping away her tears and sniffing. "I'm sorry Professor, I just don't want you to see me this way." No matter how smart and astute Hermione was a very insecure person. Always worrying about her looks, her abilities and power even though she never showed it, but right now she felt a great need to make herself look at least half decent if this Dumbledore was going to be seeing her for the first time.

"Dear, I'm sure you look fine." She heard his kind voice speak out to her. She let out a sob at the sound of it. It had been so long since she had heard his voice, the tone that bought so much reassurance that she couldn't count, that welcomed her, comforted her and made her believe in so much that she could never have dreamed of before.

"No," She muttered into her hand as she brushed it across her tear moist lips.

She felt his hand on her shoulder, it was light, like always and she knew then that she couldn't let him see her like this, "Please, this is something I need to do, I just.. .." She looked up at the ceiling and breathed in a shallow yet much needed breath of air, "Just can't let you see me like this." She ran her hands over her hair, knowing it was bushy yer thankful it wasn't greasy.

She felt Dumbledore remove his hand lightly and she knew this was the best she could look without a brush, mirror or a wand that was cursed. Slowly she turned around to face the man she had came to respect as a genius yet love like a father over the past years. His face was still warm, like the first time she had ever seen him, he was slightly younger, yet he still held all the wisdom and knowledge that she had remembered him to have.

She smiled lightly at him, hoping that somehow he would tell her that the clock was broken and she was really just in the right time and that he had never died and everything was going to be okay.

"Don't panic, everything will be fine, just tell me who you are and what the matter is." She sighed, one out of three, she said silently to herself.

She straightened her back slightly and glanced around, and even though it was still just an empty hall, one she had stood in years ago to her knowledge, where she had been dragged out of to that meeting style room before after the whole Barty Crouch Jr thing, she turned back to Dumbledore and started to talk, "I can't explain here, can we go into that meeting room down the hall?"

Dumbledore tilted his head before nodding, "Certainly, come this way." He said, walking down the hall and to the hall which Hermione remembered.

As she walked she still couldn't believe anything. She reached out to the walls and ran her hands along them, her fingertips grazing the cold stone, trying to reassure herself that this was real, that she wasn't dreaming or being tricked. Until they reached the door, Hermione continued to touch as many solid things around her that she could find, relishing in the fact that she was not dead, that she was free from that small room where the only way she thought was death.

Dumbledore opened the door and held it for her to walk through, into the room. When she did she didn't sit down on the chairs that were there or anything, just watch Dumbledore for any sign that would show her that it wasn't real, that she was right, it was all too good to be true. But he showed know, even the way his wrist flicked up slightly after shutting the door as he took his hand off the handle. She knew that when he did that it was a spell he muttered that caused the no one to hear anything through the walls or door, she remembered asking him about it once, he seemed shocked and so did Snape, who was also in the room, apparently only herself and Snape were the only people to ever have noticed this little trick of his. And it was after many lectures from Moody that made her notice these sorts of things more often, like Mrs Weasleys habit to pull at a small strand of her hair when someone entered a room, even if she couldn't see them, she would always do it, not very hard and not many people noticed it, but Hermione had, it was always amusing to watch as someone walked into a room she was in, and comment on it to Molly, but she always denied it, even when it was Hermione and Arthur telling her that she did it.

Hermione smiled at the memory, but was instantly bought back into the room when she heard Dumbledore groan quietly as he rested himself in a chair.

Hermione rushed over to his side to help him, but he simple shook his head and laughed, "After many years of life it is only expected to find simple things harder and harder things simpler in time." Hermione nodded took a couple steps back from him, thinking she may have offended him. Dumbledore lifted his hand to a chair opposite him and spoke to her, his voice still calm and sweet, "Sit down, it will be awfully uncomfortable to stand like that for the whole of this conversation."

Hermione bowed her head and moved back to the chair opposite his own and sat down on it carefully. She crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap, looking up at Dumbledore she wondered how she was going to explain this. She was running though a draft of things she should say and questions he may ask, and the answers she should give him but was interrupted when she saw Dumbledore reach his hand out toward her.

She looked down at his hand, seeing a small paper bag in it, "ABC Letters?" glancing back up at him, a look of confusion and wonder written on her face.

"I'm sorry?"

Dumbledore laughed lifted the bag up a bit higher, bringing her attention back to it, "There small alphabet shaped jelly sweets."

"Oh," She sighed, it had been so long since she had eaten, much longer since she had eaten sweets, she looked down at the inside of the bag, she saw many different colours of little shiny sweets, reaching into the bag she took a couple and placed them in her other hand. She looked down at the letters she had taken and considered eating one, but felt she may need to explain herself first to the man who had shown her so much gentleness and kindness without even knowing her.

"Um," she looked down at her hand, HALF TENT, she made out of the letters before looking back at Dumbledore and starting to speak again. "First of all, you taught me along time ago that you must never tell anyone about the future, no matter how close it may be or serious, but right now I don't seem to have much choice." Looking back at her hand she sighed, FLAT THEN, shaking her head at her pointless anagramming she looked back up and continued, "I was given a potion to take if there was no other way and it was best to die by your own hand then any other, you see, we are in a war, well I was in a war. I took the potion and ended up here."

Dumbledore stroked his beard and tightened his lips together, "Well that is very serious, I can not send you back into a war field you understand, but I was also not aware of a war anywhere, where are you from?"

"1998." She said openly, it was only a matter of time before she had to tell him anyway, so it may as well be early in the conversation then leading him to believing she was just lost, rather then a time traveller.

Dumbledore nodded slowly, and she just shifted in her chair. "I see, and this potion, it brought you here rather then bring you death." Hermione nodded as she listened to him continued, "This potion, I take it, was made just for you, no life stopping potions I know of can cause time travel in any situation I know of."

"That's what I'm beginning to think, everyone else's was a darker purple, mine was a kind of lighter, cloudier purple." Hermione said, searching her pockets suddenly, she found what she was looking for and bought it out, she handed it over to Dumbledore. "That's the container that the potion was given to me in." Dumbledore took it carefully and flipped it over in his hands a couple times.

"Yes, I recognise this coin, the design, I take it we do not do as well in the war as I would have liked." His voice was grim and Hermione knew then that she may have just changed history.

"Sir, I have a feeling that you sent me here for a reason. Do you know what that might be?" Hermione's voice was calm; she was beginning to link things together, the way Snape was looking at her, the reaction of Dumbledore, Minerva, Snape and Moody's to the mark that she had gotten so nicely from the insane Barty Crouch Jr himself.

"No, I do not, it couldn't be to defeat Voldemort now, he is to powerful and it is only rising by the day." Dumbledore ran his hand over his beard again before taking the coin in his hand and twisting it open. He lifted it up to his nose and sniffed it, before instantly moving his head away from it and twisting the other half of the coin back on. "Is there anyone that has done anything important in the war in your time, in this time or sometime in the near future?"

Hermione was running people through her head, Lucius Malfoy, no he was already a Death Eater, Snape was as well. Bellatrix and her husband would be just getting married and by now have been Death Eaters along with Goyle, Crabbe and Avery. Regulus Black had already abandoned the Death Eaters and been killed so it wasn't anything to do with him. "I'm going to be born this year in September, the nineteenth, it might be something about that, but I doubt it, I never heard of a strange woman coming and helping my parents or me as a baby who had the same name as me or something like that. The only other thing I can think of is Barty Crouch Jr, it's his last year in Hogwarts, isn't it?"

"Yes, I know Mr Crouch Jr, starting his last year in September. What might he have to do with the war?"

"He will become a Death Eater sometime this year, he will be found out and sent to Azkaban. But he escaped, bringing on the second rise of Voldemort. So maybe I'm here to stop him from becoming a Death Eater or something, I'm not sure though." Hermione sighed and rested her head in her hand, her voice faulted for a second, "I just wish you had given me some sort of clue or assignment before I was sent here, before you-" She stopped talking, not wanting to really tell him that one day he will die, not that he didn't know that anyway, but she just didn't feel comfortable in telling a man that she knew when he was going to die.

Dumbledore folded his arms over his chest and Hermione just remembered something, "You don't know my name." She was slightly shocked at this fact, that she hadn't told him, that he hadn't asked.

"You seemed to know be able to open up with out me knowing your name. Anyway, what's in a name?" She saw him pop a ABC letter into his mouth and she smirked at the small detail that the letter was H.

"That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." She quoted from Shakespeare.

That cause Dumbledore to smile widely and lean back in his chair, "I think may have liked to teach you at one point of your life. I feel you may be a great student."

Hermione tucked a hair behind her ear and smiled at him, blushing, "Thank you, sir, you kind of did teach me. It may not have been in studies like Runes or Charms, but certainly in life." Hermione stood up and held her hand out to him, "Hermione Jane Granger."

"Albus Dumbledore," he replied and shook her hand. "Now lets get down to business, what year are you in?"

"I graduated a year ago as Head Girl, sir." She said as she sat back down on her chair.

"What house were you in?"

"Gryffindor."

"Well, if you are going to be befriending Mr Crouch Jr, I believe I may have to move you into a more suitable house, Ravenclaw maybe." Dumbledore commented softly, Hermione guessed mainly to himself.

"Sir," She said, confusion in her voice, questioning where he might be leading. "Are you suggesting that I join Hogwarts for my last year again?"

"Yes, come, we must start organising things, I think it would be more appropriate, paperwork and such." Dumbledore started to get up from his chair, and walked over to the fireplace, taking his wand out and starting a fire within its stone walls. She saw him take a hand full of powder from a small pot next to it and throwing it into the fire. "Please, follow after me."

Hermione nodded and stood up, walking over to the fire as Dumbledore Flooed out. Taking a hand full of powder herself, she looked down at her hand, one with the blue green Floo powder, and the other which still held the gummy sweets, making one anagram, THAN LEFT, then threw the powder into the flames and stepping into it, yelling out words she had not said in ages.

Never knowing that her world could be turned upside down so fast and abruptly like it just had, she felt the rush of air around her that came with Flooing and with the windy gust that covered her all over, it felt slightly like flying, flying made her feel free, it was just the fear of falling that had always kept her down. But now, she needed that rush, to feel alive after believing her life would end, she needed all the rushes she could get, to feel more alive, to savour the feeling of living that she hadn't gotten in awhile.

Feeling the stone floor of the fireplace reach her feet, it bought her back down to earth, and she ducked out of the fireplace into the office which, in her time, had been taken over by Death Eaters and this room was the personal chambers of one Barty Crouch Jr, his reward for being the one to kill Dumbledore himself, where other had failed. She shuddered as she stood straight and sucked in a breath of air as she was about to be attending studies at Hogwarts again. She couldn't help but feel excited at the idea of it, but also feel a lot of pain for those she had left behind, for those who were dead in her time, but haven't even been born yet. She wondered who she might see as she looked around Dumbledore's office, the only real difference being that he didn't have Gryffindor's sword on the wall behind and above his desk. She wondered what she had already changed just by being here, or if it was like a time turner, that everything she was going to do now had already been done in her past.

Walking over to a chair and sitting down on it, watching Dumbledore search through some papers which were a big mess behind his desk, she began to speculate weather she should befriend Barty, or just kill him so he could never do anything ever again. She rubbed her cheek briefly and was severely tempted to go with the latter option.

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Okay, there's the next chapter, hope you all liked it, and please tell me if you did, or if you didn't I welcome both, but just favour the nice stuff, but take the bad into consideration, I see it more as constructive criticism, but will hate you. Lol. Only joking.

Also, I would love it if you gave ideas or comments or see any problems, and I will try and fix them, also I'm writing this as I go along, so I don't really know where it's going.. .. I don't think that's a good thing.

Please Review

Your Loyal Fictioneer

xXx Untouchablegoth Xxxx


	4. Chapter 4

AN: – I recently found out that you can no longer post review answers or thank reviews like I do at the beginning of every chapter, so I will from now on, reply to the questions in reviews by this new little PM thing. So don't think I don't appreciate all the reviews or anything. Thank you, and please don't send me hate replies after reading this chapter. And i would also like to say sorry about how long it's taken me to update, i will try and post the next chaper sooner then this one. Enjoy!

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Beneath My Skin

Chapter Three – Haunted

Hermione sat in the empty room that Dumbledore had set up for her, it was next to the Room of Requirement which she was pleased about, but it was also kind of deafening because of how quite it was. Living the past year in a world were there was constant noise surrounding them at any point, it was different to just sit in a room, not being interrupted in silence, she felt extremely uncomfortable and very tense. Sitting on the edge of her bed, her hands lay lightly in her lap but soon the ran across the silk bed spread, it felt beautiful under her hands, and she couldn't remember the last time she had felt something so fine and that made her sad.

Her mind was blank, and that was something completely different and new to her, just sitting down, feeling numb. She had always had to think, constantly, people relied on her ideas and plans, her intelligence. So her mind was never given a break to just sit back and relax or even just wonder off and now she could, it was surreal. Yet she didn't. Her mind had just frozen up and she wasn't thinking of anything. She thought she was going to die, and she was beginning to accept that, no matter how much she didn't want to, but when she could feel freedom, see it in that tiny coin, taste it. And then last hope she had been given, the only certain choice she had was snatched away from her, and from what she could figure out, it was by the people she trusted the most.

She sucked in a breath and looked into the corner of the room, trying not to let the tears of betrayal fall from her eyes. She knew she was in a war here as well, sure it wasn't as big a war as the one she had left, but it was still a war and she knew how it was going to end which is never a good thing when the other side are willing to do anything to make sure they win.

Bringing a thought up to her empty dull mind, she began to finally wonder why she was here. It had to be Barty, there was nothing else that she could change this far into the war, Harry was going to be born next year and Barty was about to join the Death Eaters sometime this year as well so she had to stop him within the next year because it will be this time next year when he tormented the Longbottom's. She had a brief thought that it could be something to do with Snape, after all he was giving her a deeply anxious look when she picked up her coin for the first time, but she shook her head, he was already a Death Eater, and he had already become a spy for Dumbledore. Maybe she should contact him, see if Barty had already confronted anyone about becoming a Death Eater.

She nibbled down on her bottom lip and knew she had two weeks before every came to Hogwarts. What was she going to do in those two weeks? Sit in this room like she was now? Her first thought was to get her wand checked out. She still didn't know what curse Barty had put on it so she couldn't use it, and she needed her wand, even if she wasn't going to use it, it was more of a comfort then anything else.

She had to do some research on time travel, but she knew she had already read every book on time travel in her third year when she used it constantly and wanted to find out as much as she could then. But not it was a bit different, no time turner, no actions that that have already happened and set out for her, no way back.

Standing up, her feet took to her weight a bit uneasily at first but soon she had enough strength to walk over to the walls, whish he ran her hand along as she walked around the room, looking at each thing in it, the book on a pile on her desk, inside the wardrobe, which was filled with many clothes that Hermione looked at uncertainty, not liking the fact they were 70's and new 80's style clothes, but what other type of clothes do you wear in the 80's? She thought to herself sarcastically. Walking past a picture on the wall, it was of a bowl of fruit, it was like a smaller version of the one at the kitchens. Brining her hand up to the pear she ran her fingers over it lightly, to tickle it, and she heard a sort of click and pulling at the picture frame she opened it outwards to see what was on the other side. She smiled when she saw a glass of what she guessed was Coke, taking it out carefully, bringing it to her nose she sniffed it, checking that it didn't have any potions or anything in it, she then brought it up to her lips and took a small sip. Yeah, it was Coke, diet, with vanilla, like she had been craving for a year now. She wondered how it knew that, but left it a simple desire spell set up the same way the Room of Requirement only on a smaller scale to food and drinks. Smiling down at the Coke she took another mouthful and continued to look around the room. She didn't find anything else exciting or that she wouldn't expect to be in a bedroom.

Walking over to her bed again, she sat back down on it, taking little sips at a time of her drink and looking around the room, wide eyed like a child.

She didn't know why, but her thoughts kept on turning to Snape, he must have made the potion that sent her here, and he must also be nearly finishing his potion apprenticeship, he was the youngest potion master at twenty one, meaning sometime this year so he must still be working with the potions master here. She sighed in a sort of relief that he was going to be here, he could really help her find out what potion his future self gave her and how to get back or find out what she's meant to do here. But he wouldn't know would he, he was still the past Snape, he hadn't made the potion yet even if he was the one who made it. It might not even exist in this time.

She lay back on the bed, still tense; folding her arms over her chest she scratched her elbow for a little while before she finally shut her eyes. Breathing in a slow pace and with each breath out she thought of all the things wrong with her being here and with every breath in she couldn't help fell excitement at the knowledge that she had a second chance, and not just for her but for everyone in the future and all those people that were effected by the war. Little dark patterns were playing across her eyes and someone would think of them as beautiful fireworks without sound but Hermione knew better, they were memories of all the spells that had happened in front of her eyes that she could never forget whenever she shut her eyes. After a couple minutes of listening to herself breathing and trying to not see the curses she finally feel asleep, her last thought was that this was the first time she had slept in a bed since she had to flee from the new Orders hideout once it was burnt down.

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Pushing open the Great Hall doors and walking through them and she smoothed down her skirt and looked up at all the teachers at the high table. They all looked over at her and she blushed under their gazes, all of them she recognised except one, who she guessed was the Defence Against Dark Arts teacher in this time, one caught her eye instantly, Snape. He was sitting in between Slughorn and the teacher Hermione didn't know, his hair was shorter and styled, it looked a lot like Harry's only less messy, his nose was the same only smaller to go with his younger face and he was surprisingly wearing muggle clothes, but naturally they were black. Regaining the ability to walk whist people stared at her, she started walking over to the table and sat on the other side of the unknown teacher, who started a conversation immediately.

"Hermione right? I've heard a lot about you, which is a bit weird seeing as you're not actually born yet." Hermione smiled and looked down at her empty plate, embarrassed by the teachers comment. "Well I'm Amy, Amy Wood." She was sweet, Hermione summarized, and she could tell there was more then met the eye. She was slim and had long dark hair which were perfectly straight and flowing down her shoulders and back.

"Hi, so you're the Defence teacher?" Amy nodded and Hermione ran her name through her head, "Are you related to an Oliver Wood?"

Amy's face lit up, "Yeah, he's my nephew, so cute, he's nearly-" she froze and turned to Hermione slowly, her smile slowly fading and a look of worry and shock crossed her features, "Is he okay? He doesn't…die or anything, does anything bad happen to him?"

Hermione smiled lightly at her concern, it was kind of sweet and Hermione was glad to see that she was worried about him, shaking her head lightly she reassured her. "No, he grows up and become brilliant at Quiddich, one of the best to come to Hogwarts actually."

Amy smiled and laughed triumphantly, "I knew it."

Hermione laughed with her and took a roll from in front of her and picked at it. She took some of the soft bread and squashed it in between her fingers and rolled it around so it made a small bread ball. Placing it on her plate she took another bit of bread and did it again.

"Professor Wood?" Hermione was interrupted by Amy putting her finger up and stopping her before she had time to continue.

"Call me Amy, Professor Wood makes me feel like a fifty year old."

"Okay, Amy, before I came here, my wand had a spell put on it, I was wondering if you could check it out, seeing as I have no idea what curse it was and I can't really use it." Pulling her wand out of her pocket she placed it on the table in front of them. Amy looked at it for a second and picked it up carefully. Brining it to her nose she sniffed it, pulling away from it suddenly made Hermione's face turn more serious. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just that this wand stinks of powerful spells. If I didn't know better I would say this was done by He-who-must-not-be-named, its dominant enough to be."

"Well he was powerful, Voldemort's right hand man I guess you could call him." Hermione noticed that the older woman didn't flinch or cringe at her saying Voldemort's name.

"I'll have to look at it closer, cast a couple of spells, but you fought this guy and only came away with a cursed wand? You must be pretty powerful yourself." Amy then got up and Hermione said bye and thanks before turning back to her roll, which was now nearly gone from her making little balls out of it, she felt someone move next to her and turned to see that Snape was getting up as well.

Hermione nearly jumped up to follow him but stopped herself, calmly getting up and taking a sip of juice before she tucked her chair in and began to walk out the hall a couple of meters behind Snape. When she was out of the Great Hall she jogged up to him and he turned around to see who was following him. Slowing down when she got closer, she took a deep breath in before starting to speak.

"Hi, I'm Hermione, but I guess Dumbledore already told you that, and I guess he already told you about how I got here, or at least I hope he has, I don't really feel up to explaining it all over again."

"Yes, he did." Hermione smiled at how he sounded just like the Snape she knew, and she was so tempted to hug him fiercely.

"Oh thank Merlin. Well I want to figure out what potion I took that sent me here, maybe it could help me figure out what I've got to do or why I ended up here instead of…well deceased." Hermione said, she could feel herself sweating and wiped her brow dry.

Snape was quite, but Hermione could see that he was thinking. Slowly he turned his head to look down at her, and Hermione just continued to look at him knowing he was looking at her for any sign of lies or trickery. "I will help you."

Hermione smiled thankfully and didn't care about what he thought, she reached out and hugged him, he was still taller then her, by quite a bit, so she pulled him down at her height and threw her arms around his neck. She felt him stiffen up more and slowly pat her back, she smiled at the fact he was so uncomfortable with physical contact even then, so she let go.

"Thank you."

"That's fine."

They stood in silence for a minute, Hermione looking at her hands, glancing up at Snape a couple times, he was just watching her closely and Hermione could guess what he was thinking.

"You wanna know what happens to you don't you?"

Snape looked at her, his face serious and his eyes dark. "No, I want to know why that bastard is still around in your time when we got so many people against him, so many people." His voice got suddenly quiet and Hermione understood, it was true, there was a stage when there were over a thousand people in the Order, but there had always been more following him, whether it be by choice or not, she presumed that the dark side had more to offer a care free life, what ever you want, not limits or rules all wrapped up in a nice little package with just one minor set back of following a mad man and calling him a god.

"We almost win if that's any help. 'Bout twice we thought we had him. And both times it was the guy I think I'm here to stops fault." Hermione ran a hand over her hair, she saw Snape's expression harden and a questioning look cross his eyes, "Don't worry, it's not you or anything." Looking down at the floor in front of her, she had the image of all of that day and all of that night. The day they had almost won and the night where they lost more.

Fighting, she had never been good at it, always better at spells and theory, but when the time called for it she would defend herself in what ever way she could. Fighting Barty again, it wasn't like the other times and she didn't know why, he was just standing there saying loads of things, horrible things that people should never have said to them, but Hermione stood there and listened to each word.

"Such a pretty thing you know, I could really make something out of you." He tilted his head and took a step towards her, "Maybe a nice doll." Hermione just continued to glare at him, he was walking closer to her, reaching one arm out to her. She clenched onto her wand and kept her head straight, ready to curse him if he tried anything.

The battle was all around her. But it was quite far away, it was like a massive circle, like a crowd around them and they along with Harry and Voldemort, were centre stage. She had been told that she would be a main part of the "core conflict" as someone had put it, maybe it was Remus but she didn't try to think of that at the moment.

He took another step forward and Hermione sent a curse his way, which hit him in the knee. He fell onto both of them and looked up at Hermione whist glancing at his knee checking it was alright and where she as quickly as he could. Hermione took a step closer to him, sending two spells at him, one to temporarily stop him from casting spells, one that she had made up a couple months ago but had never got to use properly. And the other to make sure he couldn't move his legs. Holding both her arms to her side, fists tight until they hurt, she walked closer to him, her anger was building and she didn't know why she didn't just kill him. But she couldn't help but want him to suffer, to feel every inch of pain that he caused her. Striding slowly to him she thought about everything he had done, and now she could return the favour.

When she stood just before him she pulled her arm back and looked him in the eye, she saw his look and felt a chill, his mouth was smirking yet his eyes were screaming for her to stop. She shut the feeling out and punched him as hard as she could. But not before he made another comment. "So you like it rough? Fuck yes, I really picked the right one to mark."

She got the side of his nose and her hand slipped so she also hit his cheek bone, she smiled and ignored the pain that now rose in her hand. Bringing her arm back she did it again and again, each time Barty waved his arms out to stop her but she continued to push his arms away and hit him. The bloodier he got the better she felt. She knew that just hitting him wasn't making her feel great, she needed him to know, to understand that what he did wasn't right and how much it hurt and how much she was hurting over it all.

"I trusted you! You were a teacher!" She hit him once more and flicked her wrist to get some of the sweat and blood off and to try it from not aching as much. "If you hadn't tricked everyone, none of this would be happening!" She hit him in his jaw and she paused for a second, which gave him enough time to say something.

"Good job then, I say. Who gives a fuck about all of them, all I really want right now if a good fuck from you. I'm sure you'll be a bit ridged at first, but I can teach you stuff-"

Hermione cut him off by hitting him several times, each time she cried out, getting louder and putting more of her body into it as she did. "You bastard! You brought him back! You marked me with your own deluded shit! You killed my parents! Why!" She only stopped hitting him when he fell back on his legs, he now lay helpless on the floor still reaching out to her, it was almost like he was trying to grab her arms and calm her, but she didn't believe that. Falling to her knees next to him she took him by his bloody and now bruised jaw. Pointing to her cheek with her other hand she started hissing at him. "What does it mean? Fate. You sick twisted fuck. None of this is fate, its shit. It shouldn't be like this and it's all your fault! You're the one who started it!"

She smacked her fists onto his chest, tears were falling over her face and she made no move to notice or care about them.

"So fucking emotional." She heard him whisper.

She smashed down on his ribs again, she heard them crack and break under her beating, and she heard him whimper out because of the pain. "Just tell me where he is! Give me him back!" She could feel him trying to breath and that he was finding it hard by the shallowness of his gasps and she brought her wand out and pointed it to his neck. Her voice turning stern and calmer, yet deadly quite. "Where is Ron?"

She looked up to his eyes and pressed her wand closer into his neck when he didn't answer. His eyes were grave and that shocked Hermione, jabbing her wand into his neck harder he made a chocking sound before speaking is a rough way.

"It's okay, I forgive you." His voice was solemn and grim. Hermione removed her wand as fast as she could when she recognised the tone.

"Ron?" she asked feebly and very faintly, moving her head closer to his face, brushing his hair away from his face.

His eyes were changing. No longer their misty brown, they turned to a light blue still covered in that mist. She gasped and brought his head up to rest on her lap.

"Oh Merlin, Ron, I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She spoke so quickly that she couldn't breathe, but she didn't think that was because of her speech. "Are you okay? Please don't die." Brushing his hair again she saw it turn back to its natural red in between her fingers. Her mind was rushing, it was all to slow if it was polyjuice unless he was dying before the potion had stopped working, his system shutting down would cause the potion to discontinue and he would slowly change to his original self. She saw the light cloudy mist fade from his eyes and instantly knew he was under the impermius curse, why else would Ron say those things? Unless he was being controlled by another person, using his mouth to say their words.

Ron reached out to her hand and she took it in hers gently. "It's okay, I'm okay."

Hermione interrupted him, "No your not, I have to heal you." She whispered franticly.

"Stop, Hermione, I'm lettin' you off." He said before coughing, she could see from the foamy blood that he was bleeding into his lungs, probably by one of the broken ribs slashing it open.

"Oh Merlin.. .." She whispered to herself, ripping open his shirt so she could perform a spell.

"You didn't know." Was the last thing he actually said. The rest was just constant coughing until he started choking, gasping for air that he couldn't get because his lungs were too filled up with blood. And slowly he died; all the while Hermione was trying to heal him, saying every spell she knew, most of then effecting or clearing up some of the cuts and bruises but not helping any of his internal organs. She let out a frustrated cry and yelled out to people around her.

"Somebody help me!" Her voice was coarse from being so dry. "Please! Somebody help me!" Her voice broke and she fell onto Ron's broken chest, crying hysterically and rubbing his bare skin, hoping that somehow it would help.

But it didn't. He died and it was because of her. She had taken his life from him because she didn't stop and think that maybe his arm waving and calming actions were actually calming actions, trying to show her that it was still him and she had got it all wrong. But she hadn't noticed and now he was there, comforting her because she had killed him by her own hands, which were still bruised from the incident. That's what they called it, an incident. None of the blamed her out loud, but she could tell they all did. And even if they didn't, she blamed herself, she could have stopped at any time, even when she lost control, she should had regained it or never have lost it in the first place.

She should have known, looking back she realised that never once did he flick his tongue and for many months she had always hated herself for never noticing but she never made that mistake again, she never made a move at Barty unless she had seen him flick his tongue or done anything that showed her it was really the man he looked like.

What she hated the most was that it wasn't even a short death, it wasn't instantly like the killing curse, or even painless. She had made him suffer because she believed he was someone who deserved it. Even now she could feel the way he shuddered and convulsed as she lay over his chest and it was memories like that which made her think she'll never be able to pull something like this off. How could she ever make nice and even convert the one man who had ripped everything from her and the reason she killed her own best friend. She couldn't even think about it.

Looking up from the floor, she noticed how Snape was staring at her. She blinked a couple times. "Sorry, just.. ..remembering." she said softly. Caught in his gaze she needed to find something to distract him before he read her mind and saw what she just had. "What do you know about Barty Crouch Jr?" she said suddenly, which made Snape pause and blink a couple times out of shock from her question.

He quickly worked it out, which Hermione knew he would, and was soon asking questions, "Is- Is it him? Is he the one who you're here to stop?"

Hermione pulled her lips into a line and nodded.

"But he's not like that, I mean, he's Hufflepuff." Snape said, mainly to himself, she saw his sneer at the word Hufflepuff and Hermione laughed, to which Snape restored to a firm glare. "Are we talking about Crouch's son? The one that gets letters all the time from him?"

Hermione nodded.

"Brown hair, brown eyes?" Hermione nodded again. "Brilliant at potions?"

Hermione laughed, "I should think so with the stunt he pulled forth year." Hermione saw the confused look on Snape's face. She pointed at herself, "My forth year." But that didn't seem the help Snape's perplexity. "Never mind, I might just go back to my room. Read or something." She felt extremely uncomfortable. Snape was being nice, in his own way, and she was being nice to him.

Snape put up his hand in a sort of goodbye wave and turned and left, robes blowing behind him, she smirked at how things were just always there, like the wind in his robes thing that Snape did whenever he entered or left a classroom, even if he was just walking past you in the corridor. Her smirk turned into a light smile as she turned and walked to her room.

A thought struck her. She had just made friend with Snape. Her eyes were wide, not because of the absurdity of that statement, but because she actually seemed happy and at peace with the knowledge that Snape and herself got on in this time and that she wasn't as alone as she felt.

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After explaining what the potion was like for what felt like the hundredth time, Hermione finally fell back onto the wooden workbench. It was hard and cold, but it only helped her stay awake.

"So it just absorbed into your tongue?" Snape asked, one eye brow raised and a very sceptical look on his face. Hermione sighed and bought her hand up to her face and covered her eyes with it, removing any trace of light from her sight along with the dim potions room.

"Yes, haven't I already told you that?" she replied, her voice sarcastic and fed up, "Is it that hard to believe?"

"Well given the fact that for a potion to work it has to pass through to the stomach, then yes, yes it is." Hermione heard Snape get up and walk over somewhere. Opening one of her eyes and moving her hand, she watched him walk into another room and come out a couple seconds later, carrying a book in his hand, he threw it over to her and Hermione had to quickly move up and catch the book before it hit her.

She looked down at the cover, slipping off the desk, book in hand she held it out to him. "I've already read this."

Snape tilted his head and snatched the book off her. "Then you should know that when a potion is absorbed into the tongue then it is not a potion, it is clearly a plant and earth based substance mixed to make a potion like liquid but it is really a Petroleum."

Hermione's mouth dropped, she hadn't even thought about that possibility. "Can you still help me? I need to find out, I can't stay here."

"Hermione, forgive me for being so bold, but do you really want to go back to a place where everyone else you have ever loved or known have been murdered and it is only a matter of time before you are found and by the sounds of it, raped then killed yourself?" His voice was so like his older self, full of wisdom and truth yet she still hated him for being right and making her feel stupid. This was the Snape she knew in her time, and she wondered just at what point in his life did he change for a boy to the man so tormented that she knew.

"No, but I can not stay in a time which I do not belong."

"You are here, and you have already changed the future. Now you can either leave it and be uncertain of how you changed it and go back to a future which you have no knowledge or control over or," He paused, running a hand through his short, not so greasy hair, "Is it better to stay here, change everything that's gone bad then go back to a good prospect of your time."

"You have no idea. I can't change anything here, I'm not powerful enough, I don't even have a wand! And I have no idea what I'm meant to do because no one told me this would happen. The past is not pretty but I was understood there, people knew what I had done and they treated me like I deserved. Here.." She slammed her fist onto the table behind her, "You're all willing for a second chance. But what if some people here aren't worthy of it?" She looked up, pushing her hair over her shoulder, a scowl written deep on her features.

There was a very long pause and neither wanted to say anything, fear that it could cause more problems or make the situation any worse.

Snape shifted from one foot to the other, brushing his hair with his hand he looked down at his feet, which were clad in black leather boots, he frowned at the slight scuff marks on the tips. "What did it taste like?"

Hermione looked up and thought about the question. Trying to go back in her mind to when she took the potion, her forehead scrunched up, "It didn't have a taste that I could name, but.." Tilting her head and scratching her head, she remembered something, "It had a slight flavour of something, something familiar but I can't name it."

Snape sighed and stepped towards Hermione, "Okay, then I might have to do something," he looked slightly uncomfortable, "Er, I'm going to have to go back into your memories, and see if I can recognise the ingredient." Nodding, Hermione understood what he meant. Standing up straighter, she felt a couple vertebrates in her back click, moving her head so that her hair wasn't in the way, she looked up into his eyes. She didn't see him bring his hands up to either side of her face until she felt them, oddly warm on her cold face. She gasped and he chose that moment to enter her mind and search. "If there is anything you don't want me to see, don't think about it, just focus on that moment." His voice was low and Hermione found herself lost. It felt like her eyes were closed but it was really just how dark and close his black eyes were that gave her that illusion.

A spilt second later she felt herself falling but being held up by someone behind her. "Whoa there." Hermione felt weak and she couldn't focus on who was holding her up.

"Hello Amy." She heard Snape say to the person she guessed was helping her. Hermione slowly regained her footing and stood up on her legs, frail at first but regaining her strength gradually. Turning she saw Amy and who was smiling at her, she noticed that she was holding her wand and she looked up at Amy and smiled back. Snape continued to speak and Hermione soon looked over at him. "Mistletoe. That was what you tasted. Very rare in Petroleum, I've never seen it before; I'll have to research it."

"A Petroleum? Is that what sent Hermione here?" Amy asked, taking a step so she now stood next to Hermione and not behind her anymore.

"Yes. The problem is, I only know two people that can actually make Petroleum's. My mother and she taught me."

Hermione frowned. "Great." She ran a hand over her eyes and yawned.

"You should be tired from the invasion onto your mind, but a little sleep will help that." Snape said politely, "I will find you a dreamless sleep potion." Turning from the two women he walked to the room he had got the book from.

"Why? I can get to sleep fine." Hermione complained.

"Yes, but your obsessive screaming during the night makes it very hard for the rest of the staff to say the same." He said dryly before leaving. Hermione's mouth dropped and she turned to Amy.

"Oh, am I really that loud?" Hermione asked quietly. And taking the look on Amy's face she began to feel guilty. "I'm so sorry, I apologise profusely. I didn't know it was that bad."

"Nah its fine," Amy said warmly, making Hermione feel slightly better. "Anyway, good and bad news, good, I fixed your wand. Bad, it had an extremely powerful curse on it, a very old one actually, passed down by family's, the men are suppose to mark the woman's wand with their own family's version of this curse, it doesn't happen now a days, but if you had used this wand when that spell was still on it and the man hadn't allowed it.." Amy whistled. "Well let's just say that woman burning at the stake thing was the husbands' idea and was pretty much inspired by this curse."

Hermione's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

"Well, dark magic of course. It was then, and still is. But it seems that who ever marked your wand wanted you to be a bit more then just under his control." Amy said.

Hermione sub consciously raised her hand to her mark on her cheek. Taking the wand carefully from Amy, she held it in her hand for a couple seconds looking at it closely before putting it in her pocket. "Thank you, I don't think I could have survived much longer without Colin." Amy raised her head, giving her a funny look, "I named my wand. It was a really boring History of Magic lesson, don't ask."

"I won't, anyway.. .." She said, as Snape walked out and handed Hermione a vial, whist reading a massive book which he was balancing in his other hand.

Hermione thanked him and left the room, Amy at her side. Once they were walking up the stairs out of the dungeons, Hermione glanced over to Amy, who was looking over at her smugly.

"What?"

"Come on, what's going on with you and Snape, eh?" She asked, causing Hermione to look over at her, confusion written deep in her features.

"What do you mean?" Amy smirked, and Hermione understood now, she felt disgusted and wasn't sure whether to be sick or laugh. "Merlin no!" She started laughing as they continued to walk up the stairs. "If you knew the Snape in my time, you'd know why that's just too funny."

They reached a hall way and Hermione knew this was the one that lead to the Room of Requirement, as they walked past the various different pictures she found herself really looking at them. She had never been interested in art much, she called it senseless even though she respected it, and knew how much talent it took to make a masterpiece, but she was always to busy to just pay attention to every painting on Hogwarts walls. And that was something she found she regretted. Well, she thought, at least she had a second chance now.

"Amy, how can I kill a man that hasn't done anything wrong yet?" Hermione asked her tone serious as they reached her room.

Hermione watched Amy intently as she sighed and tucked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. A rough look passed over her face, "Killing is always a last option. But I know what you mean, if it comes down to it," She paused, trying to find the right thing to say, "Just think about every thing he has done to you, or anyone else and pour every bit of hate into that curse and don't look back."

Taking in her words, Hermione felt slightly happier about her dark duty that brought her here, knowing that she had someone there for her, supporting her.

Nodding she got into her room, walking to her bed she downed the vial of potion and dropped the glass container as she fell onto her bed, her eyes flickering shut instantly and her last thought before she slept was about the fact there was only two days until the students arrived. She slept uneasy, even with the potion her dreams were slightly plagued by the memories of Ron dying and her meeting with Barty straight afterwards.

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God, Barty/Hermione scenes just flow out of me, even if it was a fake Barty lol. It's so easy to write those two together. I wrote like over three pages on them in ten minutes, that may seem long, but I'm a rubbish speller so I have to constantly check all of it, and yet still I miss things! Lol. Any way, next chapter will be one more memory only this time it will be more Barty…..or at least that's what I'm thinking bout, not really sure yet. Anyway, please review, I love and really appreciate all of them!

Your Loyal Fictioneer

xXx UntouchableGoth xXx


	5. Chapter 5

AN: – I recently found out that you can no longer post review answers or thank reviews like I do at the beginning of every chapter, so I will from now on, reply to the questions in reviews by this new little PM thing. So don't think I don't appreciate all the reviews or anything. Thank you, and please don't send me hate replies after reading this chapter. And I would also like to say sorry about how long it's taken me to update, I will try and post the next chapter sooner then this one. Enjoy!

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Beneath My Skin

Chapter Four – Reacquainting

It was burning again. Clucking her cheek, ripping at her skin she cried out in pain as she felt like a fire burned deep in her face. She knew she was alone in her room, she cast silencing charms on the room when she felt it rising. No one could hear her, which only caused her to scream louder, knowing she wouldn't be disturbing anyone.

This time was different; the pain was sharper, more sustained and hotter. She wondered if he knew that he was doing this to her, crying out again she slammed her hands down onto the ground, hissing as she felt her still bruised and cut hands came into contact and caused them to sting and ache more. Running into the bathroom that connected to her room, she grabbed a cloth and turned on the cold water tap forcefully. Shoving the cloth under it for a couple second until it was mostly wet, she brought it up to her cheek and pressed it lightly on to the mark. Hissing she pulled her hand back at the coldness on the burning spot but quickly regained and put it back onto her cheek, closing her eyes against the coldness and reminiscing in it.

It only helped briefly, she wasn't sure if that was because of the magic that lay within the scarring or because she heard a noise, well not a noise, it was a sound, the sound of someone coughing. She slowly took her wand out of her pocket, hoping whoever was behind her couldn't tell that's what she was doing. She knew it might be stupid, it was most likely Harry or Ginny checking to make sure she was still 'okay', but she needed to be sure and she was always taught constant vigilance, even if it was by that insane man at first.

Turning around, one hand to her cheek, holding the cloth and the other gripping her wand ready keeping it hidden as she turned behind her back, she breathed out when she saw it was Snape.

She let out a small laugh, "Oh, thank Merlin it's you, I thought-" but was soon cut off by Snape stepping over to her and taking hold of her arm which held the cloth to her still burning cheek, the pain briefly forgotten.

"Miss Granger, he is coming, just to see you. Do not fear him or fight. He is just here to talk. The war is now and he wants to talk to you." Snape's voice was nearly frantic, and his words weren't any sense to her as she panicked and searched in his eyes to see if this was serious or some kind of joke.

"Who, sir?" She had never felt more childish as she asked him. She felt like a slave talking to her master, obeying him or something. She always felt like that when talking to a teacher or calling someone sir or ma'am. It brought her back to the 18th century almost.

"Barty." She sucked in a breath of air, it was harshly hot and her cheek began to play up, causing her to shut her eyes tightly and press the nearly dry but still damp cloth harder to her cheek. "'Keep him talking, the longer he is here, the less time he is out there, do you understand?" Hermione heard his words and understood, but the burning was rising and she knew he was telling the truth, that Barty was close. Snape shook her roughly, pushing her against the sink behind her. "Do you understand Hermione?"

"Yes, sir." She answered weakly, eyes still held tightly shut.

Snape slowly released her, his voice became much lighter. "My name is Severus, after all this time I think you should call me by it."

Hermione opened her eyes, and loosened her grip on the cloth. "I understand Severus." It seemed to fit, it didn't make her feel childish or inferior, it sort of made them equals and Hermione knew that that's what he intended it to do. "Thank you." Looking into Severus' eyes, he smiled slightly and nodded lightly.

The moment was soon broken by the quite sound of apparition, she looked over to the door which lead to her room.

"Hermione?" she heard someone call out for her in the next room, her room. It was obviously Barty. She glanced over to Severus, he was looking intently at her, she swallowed and he mouthed the words 'good luck' to her before disappearing himself. So she was left alone with a madman, she summarized in her head. Tightening her grip on her wand, she remembered Severus' words to not fight, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Stepping through the doorway she saw him. He was sitting on her bed, elbows resting on his knees, waiting for her. She gasped at how sane he looked, his hair not gelled back but let loose to fall lightly over his forehead yet there was still spikes that pointed up and outwards. Her eyes widened as she looked up and down his body, looking at his black jeans and black t-shirt. He was wearing muggle clothes, she guessed they were to fight in, after all she could hear the battle starting outside and she knew for a fact that robes where awful to fight in. A smile slowly appeared on his face, his eyes sparkled slightly, and Hermione was struck by how young he looked. He had always looked around mid thirties but now he only looked about late twenties.

Lifting her head, Hermione waited for him to start speaking.

"'Mione." He said happily, standing up to greet her as if they were friends. She took a small step back at his sudden movement. To which she saw a flash of sadness cross his eyes which Hermione was actually shocked about.

"Hello," Not really sure what to say she just stuck with the proper greeting. "What do you want?" Another thing that made her feel stupid, Severus already told her that he wanted to talk to her.

"Nothing." He said, and she could tell he wasn't lying. He took a step towards her only this time Hermione didn't step back, she just watched him walk over to her and it was then that Hermione knew Severus was right. That night when he had said Barty wasn't insane, he was right, he was just under the influence or rebelling from someone, mainly his father. She gulped but just raised her head so she could look him in the eyes. "He gave me permission to save you, Snape stuck up for you to. Their out there to kill, but I'm here to save you."

Hermione raised her eyebrow and her brow crinkled up in confusion. "Save me?" Barty smiled widely, and flicked his tongue. Hermione suddenly jumped back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Leaning on it she closed her eyes and tried to even out her breathing. That tongue, it just reminded her of all the stuff he had done, all the people he had killed, who he really was and she couldn't understand why he would want to save her, it must be just to use her, use her knowledge of magic or the things she knew about the Order. He wasn't there to save her, he was there to kidnap her, take her to Voldemort. "Why me? What do you really want?" She yelled through the door at him, hitting her still injured fist against the wood.

"I just want to talk to you! Save you!" His voice was strong yet not over powering, just loud so she could hear it, holding no anger or rage. "It may not seem like saving to you right now, but it is. You'll be alive, and no one will hurt you! You just have to do what he says and you'll be alive."

Hermione took in a shakily breath, "I would rather die then follow Voldemort!" she yelled through the door.

"Yeah but it's not always about you! I want you to be alive! To be with me." He was almost begging but Hermione just ignored him.

"For what? To rape me? You're a Death Eater, how am I to believe you?" Before she could register what was going on she was thrown away from the door and against the bath, her grip was loosened and her wand slipped out of her hands. Getting up and struggling to find her feet supportive, she finally stood up and saw Barty standing right in front of her.

"You are not going to die. I will not let you."

"You truly are crazy." Hermione looked around for her dropped wand. She glared up and caught his eye, "You're a Death Eater, and your whole existence is to hate me, kill me!" She sneered and picked up her wand which was lying on the floor in between Barty and herself. "Yet here you are, wanting me for god knows what unless it's to just prolong my death until I am of no longer use to you. Is that it? Do you hate my kind so much that you will not even give me the decent honour or right to have a painless and quick death?" She took a step closer to him, raising her head and chin as she did, trying not to let him intimidate her even though deep down all she wanted to do was run and hide and shed tears for all the things around her. "But then again, you are a Death Eater," she spoke offhandedly, "Why wouldn't you be such a cruel, twisted and callous?"

Watching his eyes closely, she saw every emotion flicker past his eyes, it was intense to see and her heart beat got louder and faster as she witnessed what could only be called a break down.

Barty took many steps back, out of her bathroom and into her room, only stopping when he reached her bed and he couldn't move back any longer. He ran his hands through his hair, over and over again, tugging and twisting it in his fingers. She couldn't hear what he was saying but she could tell that he was speaking to himself by the way his mouth was moving and it made him look like he was arguing with or to himself. She tenderly took a couple steps so she was out of her bathroom, but not daring herself to step and closer to him out of fear he would hurt or direct his anger and frustration to her.

She took a deep breath in and started speaking, she didn't know why, she knew it would most likely only bring more danger to herself but she needed him to know what it felt like even if he was in the middle of a break down. She knew it was him now and it needed to be said. Lifting her wand up so it pointed directly at his head so began to let all of her built up feelings for him, old and new, pour out as if she was a glass of water that had been tipped over.

"Do you know what it is like to know you killed one of your best friends? Do you!" She yelled out the question to him, after getting no reply she took another breath in, finding that it was the only way to keep herself from shaking. "Ever since you showed me those three curses in lessons oh so many years ago, I have hated you. Ever inch of your being I despise more then the next, I guess you can just add me to your list of people you've tricked can't you?" stepping over to him, getting a bit more bolder as she vented out. "Harry, Dumbledore, everyone at Hogwarts, I guess I should be glad cause now I'm on it twice. Doesn't it make you feel, even a little bit, I don't care what it is, but don't you have any feelings at the fact that I killed the person I thought was you in a heart beat and that because I found out it wasn't you and actually my best friend it would make me kill you even faster then that?"

Barty coughed and kept running his hands through his hair, he had stopped muttering and was staring at Hermione like she was someone who had just told him he was Merlin himself.

"The big long speeches are boring me now a days. I like to get straight to the point now, so here it is." she walked up to him, kneeling down so she was eye level with him, leaning over to his ear she whispered, "I am going to make you feel everything you have done to me." She began to pull back but couldn't, she felt Barty's hands and arms wrap around her waist. She could feel his muscles and how strong his arms were just by them being placed around her. He wasn't trying to keep her still or hold her tightly, just making sure she couldn't move from his arms. Hermione pulled back slightly but knew it was pointless, her wand was trapped in between his body and hers, the tip pressing slightly into her stomach so any spell she cast would hit him in the process but damage her more. She breathed out a sigh and laughed lightly.

She moved her head back so she could look into his brown eyes, "I was told to keep you here. Make you stay for as long as possible," she tilted her head back and flicked her head so her hair wasn't in the way of her face.

Barty's frowned deeply, and Hermione only hardened her look, she was running out of ways to keep him here, in a duel she had very little control over him leaving, yelling and arguing was the same. Maybe she could bribe him in some way, but the only ways how were knowledge about the Order or her own self, which she was not going to do. She couldn't let him get bored, she had to keep him on his toes so he wouldn't leave, as long as they were here, they weren't outside and she knew Barty was an extremely better fighter then she, so it was good that he was here.

"An' whys that?" He asked, his voice intrigued yet she could tell he was just playing with her.

"I dunno, you tell me." She tried not to shake in his arms but she couldn't help but feel weak and at his mercy, then again, she was. She looked up and over his shoulder, she could see Snape standing by her other bedroom wall. Her eyes widened and she tried to lean back away from him and Barty but couldn't, Barty held her next to his own body. Bringing one of his hands up to her head, he placed it on the back and forced her to rest her head on his shoulder. Her eyes still on Snape, she was shocked to feel Barty's hand gently stroke her hair like she was a child or a lover. She moved her body closer to Barty, ignoring the fact that he was so firm against her, she tilted her head so she could mouth words to Snape.

"What should I do?" she mouthed over to him, she saw Snape chuckle silently, he leaned back on her wall and lifted one of his legs and rested it on the wall behind him. Crossing his arms too over dramatically Hermione thought, he shrugged. Hermione sighed and moved her arm from her side, unfortunately it wasn't the arm which held her wand, she brought it up behind Barty's back and pointed at him. "Stun him."

Snape shook his head and raised his eyebrows. Bringing one hand up in a sign of wait he began to mouth to her, "Patients, hug him." Hermione widened her eyes and sent him an angry look as he continued. "Just listen to what he has to say."

Moving her arm so it hang around Barty's shoulders, she brushed a stray hair from her face. "He's crazy!"

Snape looked down so his hair masking his face, Hermione wondered what he was thinking. Looking up suddenly, it made Hermione jump a little, but Barty only held her tighter. His began to whisper in her ear, shh-ing her and telling her it was okay. Snape nodded slowly, mouthing the words, "I fear you may be right." He shook his head and unfolded his arms. "As always." before he disapparated.

Hermione sighed and relaxed slightly in the arms of the madman. He was whispering to her again, she stopped all her thoughts for a second to listen to what he was saying, what he said surprised her in a way she didn't know existed.

"I have, since fourth year, you were different, so smart.. ..so thoughtful.. ..you were everything that a pure blood is." He paused as he felt Hermione stiffen again. "Only you weren't, you mudblood. Your stupid blood, the thing that pumped around your veins, keeping you alive, that stopped me taking you the second I killed that spider in front of you." She remembered that day, when she got back to her dorm after that lesson she took her defence book and shoved it in the fire, claiming she could never touch it again not after that spider had been killed on it. Harry had understood but Ron called her a silly girl and that it was only a spider. She felt a couple tears fall from her eyes and her vision blurred when it really hit her that she was hugging the man who had made her into a killer.

"I saw your potential, in education and looks. Thank fuck I was right in both, you see, that's why I marked you as mine. Only I needed you to kill first, I know you can never even think about surviving in a war if you haven't killed before." Hermione let out a gasp as more tears flooded down her cheeks. "And I sat there, and thought lets kill two birds with one stone, eh? Well kill one weasel and get you toughened up." He nudged her slightly, Hermione began to struggle in his arms again, she didn't care that it hurt her or that her cheek was beginning to burn again. Punching his back with her free arm and trying to push him away with her trapped hand, she let out a frustrated scream when her back hit what she thought was a wall until she saw Barty laying over her. She tried kicking but her legs were trapped under his and she still only had on free arm, which Barty had now taking in his own hand, bringing it up to his lips he kissed it while Hermione tried to snatch it out of his grasp. He slowly placed his tongue over her wrist and ran it across her palm and up to the tip of index finger, all the while Hermione felt more and more sick, and letting out a disgusted grunt.

"Come on, you don't think I'm going to rape you do you?" There was a twinkle in his eyes that made Hermione's widen as she felt a wave of fear wash over her like cold water. She froze for a second, taking in what he had just said, before struggling and wiggling to try and get out from under him.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she tried to kick and push him off of her. She kept struggling for a couple more seconds before she heard him moan, again she froze. Her eyes enlarged as she realised what she was doing had probably done to him while her mind screamed out, swearing at herself.

"See, that's why I like you, you are so modest. You never know what you do to me." His voice was husky and his breathing was heavy. Hermione began to trash under him again, not caring about what it was doing to him, just trying to get away from him before he did anything. He grabbed her other arm, from between them, and lifted both of them up before violently thrusting them to the ground, stopping all her actions and movements as she felt a crack run from her wrist down to her elbow. She didn't say a word or move an inch, she just turned her head to look at the tingling arm, he marked cheek now turned upwards at Barty. "Sweet, sensible Hermione." He laughed to himself, leaning down he ran his tongue over his mark, it began to burn as he did and Hermione tuned her head rapidly over to look him dead in the eye, his brown eyes seemed to swallow her as the burning began to ebb and build up each time. She swallowed herself as he spoke to her again, "Sweet, sensible Hermione, don't you see? I love you."

Her eyes widened again and she tired to move her hand to point her wand at him but found it had fallen out when he trashed it against the wooden floor. "Oh my God. Merlin, you really are insane." His coffee eyes sparked as Hermione felt herself sinking in the darkness that loomed in his eyes.

Again she woke up cursing the dreamless sleep potion. She knew it would never work but she still took it, the mark on her cheek would never let her block out the memories making the potion useless and futile. She sometimes felt pity on herself, saying how she knew what it must have been like for Harry, but soon stopped herself, claiming that her mark was nothing like his scar and that she got it easy. Harry spoke differently of course, she remembered many nights they had spent sitting around and arguing over who had the most sucky life, but they always stuck up for the other and not themselves.

Brushing her hair from her face she frowned at how damp it was from her sweating. She tried to sit up but found it was too much effort so she just fell backwards onto her bed again. She let out a frustrated growl and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, she could see out of the window that it was still dark. She tried to sit up again, pushing herself up with her arms and scooting back to the head of the bed so the wall would support her. Blinking a couple times so her eyes would get used to the dark, everything was in its place, Hermione had really moved into this room over the past couple weeks and she was sad that now she would have to move into a smaller shared room tonight, she knew it was selfish but the last time she had a room to herself ended on the night she had just dreamt about, no one let her go anywhere on her own for weeks after that, though there were not many people left to accompany her. Hermione had moved into Ginny's room and from that day they were never split, until she came here. Hermione had sometimes wondered what would happen to Ginny and Harry, they were after all the only remaining members of the Order. Dumbledore had told her about the parallel and paradox universe that had now been created but that still didn't stop her from thinking about them and if they had died even if it wouldn't technically be for another nineteen years.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed and picked up a match box from her side table. Walking around the room she picked up odd thing and chucked them onto her bed as she lit all the candles around the room. It was going to be a long day, first she had to pack, which she never liked doing, despite how organised she is with work and books, she was a complete mess when it came to her personal life, tidying and cleaning, packing being one of the worse. She always said it was the yang to her ying, or the other way round depending what mood she was in. Secondly, all the students were coming back today, which meant so was Barty. She had a lot to do today, and she still hadn't come up with a fake story about who she was. And she needed to figure out what classes she was going to take, Dumbledore had suggested that she take all but one of the same NEWTS as Barty and she had nodded and agreed then but she didn't know if that was what she would be doing or if it may be different. She still needed to pack, which is what she was going to put last on her list along with ask Snape to tell her about every student she would be having classes with and which of them were threats. She didn't really want to spend too much time with him after reliving that day tonight.

Sighing she looked around her room once more and grabbed the side of her head as she felt the wave of tiredness sweep over her. Glancing out the window and at the small cosmological clock next to it she now knew it was four in the morning. She stood looking out her window for a couple minutes, frozen and blank, she felt dirty. Blinking and forcing herself to move her head, she walked past her dresser, picking up a bag and walking out of her bedroom she headed towards the prefects bathroom.

Walking past a couple of pictures, she stopped and noted things about them, like how one of them had a slight fault, one of its corners was singed and charred so there was a black curled up bit of canvas showing rather then the painting. Moving on she walked down the hall for a bit longer, enjoying how oddly quite it was and how her footprints made little padding sounds as she walked on the stone barefoot.

She finally reached the portrait, it was different then the one she had used in her last years at Hogwarts, but she had been shown it the other week and was now getting used to it. Whispering the password, she knew Amy's rooms were only a couple doors down and she didn't want to wake her even though speaking was doubtfully going to do that anyway. The portrait swung open and she stepped up and into the bathroom carefully, she placed her hands on the walls of the entrance whist still holding her small bag in her right hand.

She stepped down from the entrance and walked over to the edge of the massive bath, which she always compared to a swimming pool any day rather then a bathtub. She slowly took off her clothes carefully and opened her bag and pulled out a towel which she placed on the ground neatly next to her fallen clothes. She looked out at the water and tapped her foot over the surface lightly, it was warm, she knew it would be but she just liked to be sure, she walked over to the wall by the entrance and ran over to the bathtub, jumping at the last possibly second and diving into the water. She loved the feel of how it washed over her and what it was like to be so free, gliding under the water. She swam a bit lower until she felt the bottom of the bath, then spun round and kicked off the floor, feeling her head rise from the water she took in a deep breath of air and wiped the water out of her eyes. She blinked as couple times and wiped her hair out of her eyes and down the back of her head and back. She spun around and spotted her bag, taking another breath she began to swim over to the edge of the tub and towards her bag. Reaching over she took out a small potion bottle, opening it and pouring it into her hands she ran it through her hair, like a shampoo only Amy had giving it to her, claiming it was a miracle for any woman with long, untameable hair. Hermione let out a chuckle at how much she had reminded her of a television advert then.

Pulling out a small cloth from her bag she began to wash her arms, the dirty feeling had still lingered around her and while she could bear it for a while, she needed to feel clean right now. As she washed herself, Hermione couldn't help but feel self conscience, she looked around but found no one there watching her. She looked down at the cloth and wetted it again, rinsing it and beginning to clean her legs she remembered something, or someone. Her shoulders fell but she never stopped washing her legs, she spoke out soon was meet with someone she had long forgotten about.

"Myrtle, if you're going to watch me and wonder who I am, you may as well just come out and speak to me."

She heard the childish voice behind her and also a slight breeze which meant she wasn't that far away.

"I haven't seen you around here before."

Hermione smiled to herself, "Nope, I'm Hermione. A new student, I was home schooled, but my father died a couple weeks ago so now I'm coming here to study." Well, now she had a story, one thing to cross off her list. She didn't know why that lie came out so easily but guessed it was a good thing if she was going to be using it for the rest of the year.

There was a slight pause, most likely Myrtle thinking about her story and questioning it. Then slowly she began to talk again.

"But if your new.. ..how do you know my name?" Hermione could swear she was almost singing it as if it was a nursery rhyme. Narrowing her eyes she began to answer.

"Dumbledore told me, to be careful when I use the bathroom's because there's a ghost. And that her name is Myrtle, so I figured that was you." Her voice was light, and calm, Hermione only hoped that all those years lying to teachers and people were paying off, she really didn't want to be discovered by a silly school girl ghost.

"Was Myrtle." Hermione heard her mumble to herself, hated conversations with Myrtle, she had only really ever had about four of them, but each time it always came back to how she was dead and in love with Harry and seeing as Harry was only born a just over month ago she doubted that would pop up in the chat.

Sighing, Hermione decided to act like she hadn't heard what she said by ignoring it. "So Myrtle, I've been here a couple weeks now, how come I haven't seen you before?"

"Oh, I just wonder." Hermione laughed at how much she was reminding her of Luna, just the way she dazedly answered her question. "Not much to do, there's a paw trapped in the u-bend in the girls bathroom on second floor," Hermione smirked and thought how much she would hate to be like Myrtle living such a dull life, or rather after life as she continued with her story. "I've been spending most of my time watching that dirty care taker try and get it out."

Hermione shook her head at her, feeling great pity for the ghost, she knew about her past and how she died and she knew it was sad it all was, but it still didn't help the fact Myrtle was one of the most annoying, wining people she had ever met. "Er, would you mind?" Hermione said over her shoulder, hoping the other girl knew what she was implying.

"No, no, its fine really, no one wants me around."

"It's not that, I just want to get out now." Moving over to the edge of the bath she reached over to the towel which still lay neatly next to her clothes. She took a quick look around and saw that Myrtle wasn't there anymore, she placed her hands on the stone floor and pushed her self up and out of the water. She wrapped herself up instantly in the towel, just for warmth and comfort. She walked over to sinks and looked at her self in the mirror, she frowned deeply and started to finger at her hair to sort it out so it was a least a bit neat and parted right.

Running her fingers down her wet face, she traced the mark on her cheek, it was slightly purple from the heat of the bathroom and Hermione smiled lightly, during her whole time being in this time it had not burnt once, not even a slight pull or sting. She kind of enjoyed having the bathroom and Hogwarts basically to herself, it gave her a lot of time to think and try to get over the shock. She still found it strange to walk on a floor from a different time then her own but each day she was beginning to get used to it, she knew that all of her time getting used to it would be shattered the second she saw herself, Harry or Ron from this time. Seeing herself was going to be unlikely, but by the sounds of it Lily and James along with Molly and Arthur visit Hogwarts a lot to see Dumbledore, who will surely have to inform the Order about her and her mission. It was only a matter of time before she saw them. Sighing again, she walked back over to her bag of things she bought with her, taking out her clothes she moved over to a bench, laying her clothes down she began to dry herself.

It wasn't long before she was emerging from the prefects bathroom, she began to walk down the hall, looking at the painting which's corner was damaged. She wondered what might have happened to it, but that didn't stop her as she walked to the Room of Requirement. Whispering the password to her room, she chucked her bag which now held her damp towel, night wear and cleaning products, onto the floor just by the entrance, then she shut the portrait and began to walk past the blank wall three times, each time thinking of what she wanted most, which she had no idea what it could be. Just walking up and down three times thinking of the words in her head.

Suddenly the door appeared, like she knew it would. She hesitantly walked over to it and opened it slowly, taking the side of the door into her hands and peering around into the room. She didn't see much this way, so opening the door more fully, she stepped in side and froze. It was a phone, which was oddly ringing. Raising her eyebrow and her brow all scrunched up, she walked over to it.

"How can you be ringing?" She knew for a fact no electrical products could work insides Hogwarts ground, she had read it many times in A Hogwarts History, and even tested it by bringing in the iPod that her parents had brought her and surely enough, it didn't even turn on. Picking up the phone, she raised it to her ear gradually. Pressing it against her ear and holding the handle part tightly, she began to answer.

"Hello?" She didn't really except anyone to answer, and if she did, she had no idea who it might be. There were so many people she wanted to talk to right now, she couldn't name them all.

"Hello?" The voice was a mixture of shock, surprise and a very confused question.

Loosing her grip on the phone, she knew that voice. It made her loosen up all over, her knees weakening and her mouth gaping open. She froze all at once after the first shock, gripping the phone tight she held it closer to her face, cupping the speaker in her other hand, whist the other pushed the phone against her face so hard it began to hurt, but she had to know if she heard that voice correctly.

"Remus?" Her voice came out a lot quieter then she had hoped, almost like a child.

"I'm sorry, who is this? Is James there?" He sounded so much more younger, yet still Remus, still deep and empowering, yet kind and nice. Hermione could hardly breathe, she slowly sank to the floor, clutching the phone like it was her life.

"No," she shook her head sadly, even though she knew he would never see her, "James isn't here. Er," she didn't know what to say, "This is Hogwarts. And I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." A slight hope built in her, like he would know her, comfort her and give advise.

"Oh, how is this phone working? You're in Hogwarts right?" Her vision blurred and it became harder to blink. She knew that she was about to cry, of course he wouldn't know her, she was silly to think that there was any chance that he did. Not for at least another thirteen years, and that was true, in thirteen years, she would be on the train, sitting next to him as he slept. Her tears started to fall and she didn't try to wipe them away.

"Er, I don't actually know." She laughed nervously, "It just sort of.. .. appeared, in the Room of Requirement." She knew Remus knew about the room so there was no problem telling him where she was.

There was a slight pause and Hermione began to worry, but her fears of him hanging up or hunting her down soon disappeared when he began to talk again. "Oh, well, I wondered why I had the sudden urge to call James at half five in the morning. Anyway, why do you _require_ talking to _me_?"

"I.. .. I don't know." She smiled through her tears, it was so comforting to hear him speak, even if he didn't know who she was. Just his voice, the voice which had calmed and supported her for so long, and here it was. She couldn't see him, but she could hear him and it was almost like being back home. Now she knew why the room had given her the phone call.

"Okay, lets see.. .." she could almost picture him rubbing him chin as he was thinking, "Do I know you? I don't think I do Hermione right?"

"No, no I've never met you. I'm.. .." she needed to say something that would help him think of a reason for him being the one the room picked, her mind raced and suddenly she thought of something, trying not to sound to cheery or forced, she came out with, "I'm a new student here. This is my first time coming to Hogwarts, I'm in my last year."

She almost hear his thoughts snap into place, just like she had wished them to. "Oh, well that's why then. I used to go to Hogwarts, I guess you just wanted to hear what it was like from someone who has experience."

Smiling to herself she felt kind of silly, this was the first time she had really smiled since she got here. "I guess so. Yeah.. .."

She heard Remus thinking out loud, occasionally letting out an 'um' or an 'ah', "Well, watch out for the big tree out by the cliff edge." Hermione smiled at the memory of Ron and Harry after they had just faced the tree in that old nearly broken down car. And in her third year, when she yelled out at Remus and about his secret, and when all the truth came out about how James and Lily died. "And, hang on, I think Professor Binns' is still teaching, yeah, history of magic, well bring a good book to read to all his lessons or he'll bore you to death."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, it gets so much better then that, hang on, I will send you something. Hermione Granger right? Well, I'll have to remake it first, but you'll get it tomorrow, it's kind of a.. .. map." Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She knew what map he was talking about. "Go out, make loads of friends, and never forget this map, its perfect for sneaking out."

Hermione laughed out loud at that sly comment, "And who says I'm the type of person to be sneaking out?"

"I dunno, but you're the one who's at Hogwarts the morning before it open to students, in the Room of Requirement, which took me and my mates over four years to find." This felt right, Remus' joking tone, it felt like they were friends again. Both laughed and Hermione began to wipe away her tears.

"Okay, the basics," Remus continued after they both stopped laughing, "Slytherins, bad. The evil, cunning kind of bad. Hufflepuffs, very loyal and hardworking, but they can be a little wimpy. Ravenclaw, very smart, but everyone knows how to be in an advantage I found, that could be a good or a bad thing. And last, Gryffindor, brave, fun and everyone sticks by each other. If you were going to be put into a house, I would say Gryffindor woud be the best."

"Were you in Gryffindor?" Hermione asked, trying to not sound stupid, or too uninterested because she already know the answer.

"Yep, although I sometimes thought I was meant to be in Ravenclaw. Do you know what house you're going to be in?" Remus asked, he seemed really interested, even though it was half five in the morning.

"Dumbledore said I would be better suited in Ravenclaw." Hermione was still kind of sad that she wouldn't be in Gryffindor, but she also knew it was too risky for the future. She looked down at her nails on her left hand, they were clean and growing long again.

"That's cool." She could hear the sadness in his voice despite his words. She heard a noise in the background, it was a small tapping but it grew louder and Hermione didn't need much thought to know that it was obviously an owl at a window. "Well, I got to go, I hope I helped in some way. I'll send you that map, and maybe see you sometime, I visit Hogwarts a lot."

Hermione nodded into the phone, "Okay, thank you Remus."

She knew he had frozen up a bit, which he usually did when people called him by his first name, especially young women, she remembered all the times she had seen it around Tonks just before they started dating.

"Er, that's fine, it was nice speaking to you."

"Likewise, Goodbye." Her smiled turned sad at the fact she knew that this conversation was ending, but she took what she could get.

"Goodbye Hermione."

And with that she quickly hung up the phone before she heard him hang up first, she didn't know why, but she didn't really want to hear the buzzing sound which meant he wasn't there anymore, that no one was there.

Sitting there for a couple more minutes, she looked up at the table which had the phone on it. After awhile it slowly began to fade and she was left in an empty room, with nothing in it, not even a window. Slowly she got up, stretching as she did, she walked over to the entrance and looked back on more time before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Turning quickly after she shut it, she didn't even see it disappear, it was already gone. Sighing, and tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, she began to walk to the library, there was a book she wanted to read. It had been awhile since she had read a bit of fiction and now seemed like a good time to start again. Thinking of some books that she would like to read, she reached the big oak door that opened into the library and decided she wanted to read a bit of muggle classics. Opening the door slowly, so not to make them creak, she slipped into the crack in between the doors and headed straight to the muggle section of the massive room.

Never noticing the man following her from the Room of Requirement all the way to the room she was in now. The stormy eyes watching her intently each time she moved. Analysing her and wondering as she carefully slide out the book _Pride and Prejudice_ from its set place on one of the middle shelves.

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Her thoughts were interrupted by the library door opening with a loud bang against one of the walls. She jumped at the sudden noise and shut her book, keeping her thumb in the pages to maintain the page she was reading. She stood up and began to walk around the shelves to the entrance of the library, soon she saw it was just the librarian and let out the breath she had been holding. Slowly she walked out from behind the last shelves and started over to Madam Pince, "Hello, good morning." She said cheerfully, she was very clam now, she found reading always helped her.

"Oh!" Pince jumped slightly, surprised at the girls appearance already in the library, "I didn't know you were in here."

Hermione just smiled sleepily at the remark. "Yeah, I woke up early, and decided to come and read for a bit." Holding up the book she was still had in her hand, as proof.

Madam Pince smiled kindly, "That's fine, but don't you think you should be getting breakfast? It's nearly ten." Hermione was quite shocked, she didn't know she had been reading for that long.

"Okay, thank you. Would it be okay if I took this book out, please?" Madam Pince nodded and reached her hand out to take the book from Hermione. Quickly turning the corner of the page she was marking, she handed it over as the elder woman ran her wand over the book and handed it back to her. "Thanks." Hermione said before walking briskly out of the room and into the hall. Heading straight to the stairs she began to rush down them. She didn't know why she was hurrying to go to the great hall, she wasn't hungry, she guessed it was just because she wanted to see everyone, she always felt more comfortable around people she knew, even if they didn't know her as well as she would have liked them too.

The great hall's door were open so she didn't need to open them, which she was thankful for, she hated having to do that, it made everyone look around and she felt like she was making a massive entrance when she really didn't want to be noticed so much. She quickly walked in and down the gap between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, looking down at her feet as she headed towards the table. She knew this would be the last time she sat at the table because no one came down for lunch, they all ate it at their own accord, and tonight she would be sitting at the Ravenclaw table. Stepping up at the side of the stage, she walked over to her spot, only to find it taken, raising her eyebrow at the black haired man she realised there was an empty seat next to him so she sat down in that one instead.

Looking next to her she saw Hagrid and smiled at him, wishing him a good morning, then turning to the other person, who was in her seat, she realised something. Her breath caught in her throat and her mouth fell open, trying to speak things but nothing was coming out. Luckily or not for her, he turned around and smiled widely at her and held out his hand.

"Hello, Sirius Black, nice to meet you." Looking between his face and his hand, Hermione took it slowly and shook it, still not able to find any words. Sirius' grin wavered and he began to speak again. "So.. ..are you a guest or a new teacher?"

Hermione shut her mouth again and blinked a couple times, regaining the ability to talk and comprehend things. "Hermione.. ..Sorry, _I'm_ Hermione Granger. And I'm a student."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, Hermione couldn't help be notice how young and handsome he looked, she guessed all those stories weren't lies about him being gorgeous and a charmer.

"Student? You're here early, and sitting at the head table, my my, the teachers must love you." He said slightly dryly, yet it made Hermione laugh. Taking a bread roll from in front of her, she took a pinch of it and began to rolled it around between her index and thumb so it formed a little ball, she then placed it on her plate and took another bit of bread and repeated the action.

"I'm.. ..not from around here." She explained, she knew better then to lie to him, he would soon find out about her really reason for being here, he was in the Order after all.

"Oh, how old are you?" He asked, taking a sip of what Hemione guessed was tea. She then heard Hagrid chough loudly from next her, she turned to see if he was okay, but found him glaring at Sirius. "What?" Sirius called over to Hagrid innocently, "I was just asking her a question!" Hermione laughed and shook her head lightly, turning back the Sirius, she smiled lightly.

"I'm.. .." she stopped herself, she couldn't say she was nineteen could she? But she didn't want to lie. She bit down on her lip lightly, before turning her head upwards to face him once again, smiling sweetly she continued, "I'm too young for you Mr Black."

"Ah," He said, knowingly, taking another sip of his tea then he ran a hand though his quite long black hair, "So, you're in your last year?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?" His brow was all crinkled up and Hermione looked down at the small bread spheres on her plate.

"I thought you said you were going to guess?" Hermione spoke simply.

"I am, and that answered my question, Ravenclaw." Hermione laughed out slightly at his trick.

"My my," She repeated his words dryly like before, "Aren't we the cunning little Gryffindor."

Sirius pointed at her, "Now, how did you know I was a Gryffindor?"

Hermione was caught out, but it didn't take her long to recover, brushing her hair over her shoulder she began to explain, "Well, if you're cunning, but if you were in Slytherin you would be over there," she pointed and glanced over at Severus. "Talking to him. You seem too cheeky to be a Hufflepuff, and you don't seem to be that smart, so that rules out Ravenclaw." She smiled jokingly and winked at him with the last comment.

Sirius pouted, "Now that's not very nice."

Hermione shrugged and stood up, she walked out of the hall quickly and down the hall until she reached Dumbledore's office, she wondered why he hadn't been at breakfast, speaking the password out the to gargoyle, she waited for it to move open for her, after a couple seconds it did and she stepped into the staircase. Walking up them as they moved so she would reach his office sooner, she got to his door and knocked lightly and waited for an answer.

"Come in."

Opening the door she stepped in and closed it behind her, turning to face the room she saw two people she hadn't seen in so long, it instantly made her stare wide eyed at them. She smiled kindly, wanting to get up and hug them, but knowing she couldn't because they didn't know who she was, which made it all the harder to see them. They both slowly turned to look at her and Hermione took a deep breath in, running her hands over her shirt, she tried to look her best for these people who were, to them, meeting her for the first time.

She waved slightly and spoke very softly to them, greeting them after so long, yet to them, they had never seen her before in their life, but to her they were the ones who had made her want to keep living.

"Hello."

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I'm so sorry it's been ages since I updated this, schools new and hectic and hopefully this chapter will make up for it.

Your Loyal Fictioneer

xXxUntouchablegothxXx


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